The Heir
by Miss Gorightry
Summary: They go for six years, each without knowing the other exists. A chance encounter brings them together, but can seven generations worth of secrets keep them apart? SM/RW, first person, criticism would be lovely :
1. A Bittersweet Reunion

**Right, so the tag on this story says it's got Scorpius Malfoy and Roxanne Weasley in it...and it does...it's just that I started this thing before I had completed my research...I knew George Weasley had a son (Fred) and a daughter, but I didn't know what his daughter's name was or who he married. So...I sort of invented them. By the time I discovered my errors, I had grown too attached to my characters to just go and change their names like that. Also, the cat's name was a coincidence. Crazy, right? Anywho, in essence: Evelyn "Evey" Weasley = Roxanne Weasley. **

**And also, I don't own any of these characters. Unfortunately. J.K. Rowling does. Lucky. **

**The Heir**

**Chapter One: A Bittersweet Reunion**

I sighed as I gazed at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. In a few minutes, it would be time to cross through the seemingly-solid wall to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting in all its glory to cart my fellow students and I back to school. This was nothing to me, I had done it for the past five years, and certainly had no trouble doing it again. The thought of returning to school once more brought little prickles up my spine.

Not that I didn't adore school—I honestly could not comprehend how Muggles survived in their sad, monotonous little brick buildings, while we attended Hogwarts and had the opportunity to learn from some of the most brilliant wizards of our age. Indeed, the only drawback to school was dealing with that tiny, tingling doubt that always sat at the back of my mind, constantly there to remind me that I don't quite belong. I stroked Roksalana, my cream and brown cat which was perched on her shoulder, happily observing the crowd of people with her amber eyes.

"Evey!" I was wrenched from my thoughts by a voice behind me. I turned just in time to be attacked by a whirling ball of red, gold, and brown. My best friend and favorite cousin, Rose Weasely, grabbed me up in a fierce hug. Roxie meowed unhappily and jumped from my shoulder to the top of my luggage cart.

"Rosie" I wheezed, "You're crushing my spine..." Rose pulled away from me, apologetic.

"Sorry! How have you been? Aren't you excited? Another year at Hogwarts! Oh, the summers are just plain _dull _in comparison, aren't they?" She had inherited her mother's intelligence, and her light brown hair, which hung straight to the middle of her back. Her face gleamed with contagious excitement, and I laughed despite myself..

"Slow down, Rose, you're already giving me a headache and classes haven't even begun!"

"You're right, I'm sorry. But really, how have you been?" Rose pushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"You just saw me less than a week ago!"

"Yes, but...I heard that you and...Emmett..." Rose broke off, embarrassed, but couldn't keep the curiosity from her face. I sighed and wondered for the umpteenth time why news of my romances—or, in this case, lack thereof-- seemed to travel faster than a cursed bludger.

"I suppose James heard from Fred, then. Damn close-knit families." Rose laughed warily.

"What happened, though?"

"Here." I took out the well-creased letter from my bag. "Figured you'd want to read it." Rose took the letter and unfolded it and began to read. I watched in dark amusement as Rose's face registered varying degrees of shock. I'd never admit that I had the letter memorized.

_Dear Evelyn,_

_I'm sorry I'm no good at this, but here's the long and short of it. The past months have been really great, but over the last few weeks I've been feeling that things between us have gotten...well, strained. It's sort of like we're not clicking the way we used to. Remember when we met, back in first year? I thought you were the greatest, and I still do, but I really don't think that anything more than friendship between us is going to work out. We've really had some good times together, so let's just leave it at that, alright? Everything was so much better when we were just friends, don't you think? So, I suppose this is goodbye for now, but I'll see you at the beginning of term. Save me a seat?_

_Your Friend, _

_Emmett Finnigan_

Rose looked up at me, slack-jawed.

"Oh my, Evey, I'm--"

"Hey, Evey!" The rest of the Weaselys and the Potters had finally caught up with us. James caught me in a bear-hug.

"How is my favorite female relative?" He asked.

"Hey!" Lily frowned up at him. "What about the sister down here?" James laughed.

"Female relatives are a lot more enjoyable when you don't have to live in the same house as them." Lily huffed and rolled her eyes. "What's wrong?" Despite my attempts, James saw my troubled face.

"Oh, please," I teased, "you know perfectly well what's wrong." James's eyes narrowed.

"That Emmett Finnigan still? Good riddance! He doesn't deserve you, anyways. I'll snap his beater-arm in two..."

"No, mate, I've already got dubs!" My brother, Fred, said, walking up to to the crowd. Our parents lagged behind, laughing happily.

"Just read this!" Rose produced the letter.

"No, Rose!" But my cry was too late. James, Hugo, Lily, and Al all grappled for a look.

"...'Your _Friend, _Emmett Finnigan?'" James growled. "I'll snap _both _his arms off!"

"I know, mate. Bloody pratt." Fred said.

"His own mother won't recognize him when we're done!" Hugo declared. Al joined in.

"Guys, don't start any fights! Honestly, it's not worth the trouble. Emmett and I were never all that serious, anyway."

"You don't call seven months serious? Honestly, Evey, in school that's practically _engaged—_" Rose's brow was furrowed and her nostrils flared, the epitome of anger.

"Let's just drop it, okay? There's no use in spoiling our first day back, right?" Reluctantly, my cousins agreed. I snatched back my letter, almost returning it to my pocket before I stopped. Slowly and deliberately, I ripped the parchment into tiny pieces and threw them up like confetti.

"That's the way!" James said. I observed as Roxie batted at the falling shreds of parchment. I would never admit to my cousins how my insides had been torn up so similarly when I had first read that letter. I had really liked Emmett, perhaps even...NO! I yanked my mind away from such stupid thoughts. Presently, the adults joined us. Aunts Ginny and Hermione, Uncles Harry and Ron, and my mother and father, Rachel and George Weasely.

"So, how does it feel, James, being a seventh-year? And Head Boy to boot!" My father asked.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." James smiled.

"Well, guys," Aunt Ginny clapped her hands, "We should get onto the platform. Fred, James, you're first." We all ran through the wall in pairs, regrouping as soon as the last of us were through. The Hogwarts Express gleamed in front of us, and throngs of fellow students and their families surrounded us. We all boarded the shining train, finding an empty compartment where we crammed all of our luggage. I set Roxie's cushion on a seat and filled up a bowl with bottled water. The cat swished her tail in gratitude and curled up on the cushion.

"You spoil that cat far too much." Fred observed. I shrugged. A warning whistle sounded, and we ran outside to say goodbye to our parents.

Mom caught Fred and me up in a hug and whispered in my ear. "There'll be other boys, honey."

"Mom!" I flushed. Why was it impossible for my personal life to remain personal? Dad hugged me as well, and shook Fred's hand.

"Have a good time, Ev'!" Dad called as I bounded back up the steps.

"We'll write you!" Mom promised. I returned to the compartment and waved out the window as the train lurched to a start, watching them until they became specks behind us.

"James and I have to go to the Prefect's compartment. We'll see you later, though." Rose bounded off. Fred and Al excused themselves to join other friends, and I was left with Hugo and Lily.

We talked lightly for a while, until we were joined by my cousins' friends, Hayley Thomas and Frankie Finch. I amused myself by sketching the quickly-passing landscape. The snack trolley came and went. Hayley and Lily tossed Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to Roxie while Hugo and Frankie discussed Gryffindor's chances at the Quidditch cup this year. I was criticizing my sketches when the train lurched a little, and my graphite pencils spilled onto the floor. I gathered most of them up, but one rolled under the door of the compartment and into the hall.

I sighed, standing and pulling open the door. At that moment, the train lurched again. My foot caught on the edge of the door and sent me tumbling. I let out a startled yelp. Suddenly, I found myself gazing into a pair of astonishing denim-blue eyes. A pair of rather strong hands restored me right-side up, and I found myself face to face with Scorpius Malfoy.

"Oh! I-er, sorry. Clumsy." He regarded me oddly for a moment, then the corners of his mouth twitched upward.

"Were you looking for this?" He produced my lost pencil.

"Oh! Yes...thank you."

"Hey, Scorpion, what's this?" Fred had appeared behind us. "Beat it, Malfoy."

"Fred, he—"

"What were you doing with my sister?"

"Nothing, Fred! Listen--" Scorpius glanced from Fred to me, then sneered.

"Weasleys." He retreated down the hall and into his own compartment. I sniffed. There was no reason for him to be rude.

"What was that about?" Fred demanded.

"Nothing. I dropped my pencil, he picked it up for me."

"Hm. Better wash that pencil off." I rolled my eyes. "Do you guys have any more Chocolate Frogs? We're all out." I rolled my eyes again and let him into our compartment without another glance towards Malfoy.

---

"Exler, Roger...RAVENCLAW!"

The Great Hall echoed with the sound of the sorting. My voice was growing hoarse from cheering for the incoming Gryffindors. The Headmistress, Professor Lioda, briefed the First Years on the school rules. Professor Lioda, had taken over the position five years ago, when Minerva McGonnagal retired. Lioda was somehow related to her. As much as I admire Professor Lioda, I wish I could have known Albus Dumbledore, but he was before my time. Indeed, he seems more of a legend than reality, at least to me.

"Finnigan, Luke...GRYFFINDOR!" I watched as the pale boy trotted off to join his older brother further down the table. Emmett grinned at him. I turned away.

"You okay?" Rose whispered to me, patting my arm. I nodded and forced a smile onto my face.

I ate until I felt ready to burst, then slid out of my seat and followed my fellows to the common room. Exhausted, I collapsed onto my bed in the room I shared with Rose, Lydia Stone and Alyssa Charters. Roxie curled up in the crook of my knee, and I tumbled into a deep sleep.


	2. The Girl in Lavender

**Chapter Two: The Girl in Lavender**

I'm not usually one for dreams, but on the rare occasions that I do have them, they are extremely vivid—sometimes impossible to distinguish from reality. That night was one of those nights, and I soon found myself walking through the halls of Hogwarts.

The beauty of the school always got to me. It was almost like a museum, filled with one-of-a-kind artifacts that were irresistible to grubby little hands during the long hours of the day. But in the still of the night, the castle seemed at peace. I wandered happily, with the slow, dazzled walk that always distinguishes a fellow artist from the commoners in a museum. Without warning, a flash of silver streaked up the corridor. Intrigued, I followed it. The silver thing seemed to dance in front of me, the bright color shocking against the muted hues of night. It was toying with me, slowing just enough for me to catch a glimpse of it before it turned a corner. I followed in a sort of determined haze, down staircases and through corridors and, finally, out the front door.

I found the world transformed outside the school. It was twilight, the last of the sunset disappearing beyond the horizon. Violet and blue fireflies swayed in the breeze under fragrant trees. Long, soft grass dotted with flowers stretched out endlessly before me. A giggle sounded behind me. I turned and was shocked to find the school had disappeared entirely, replaced by a wooded area. A girl dressed in lavender stepped from the trees. Her blue-black hair tumbled down in perfect ringlets to the backs of her knees. The silver thing slivered up her body, finally coming to rest on her hand. She smiled at it, and I saw it was a garden snake. The girl kissed its arrow-shaped head, and It disappeared. She turned to me then, silently asking me to follow her. I obliged.

We made our way through the oddly quiet woods, our footsteps muffled by the thick carpet of clover and moss. The girl weaved in and out of the trees in an assured manner, as if she had done this every day of her life. She never once looked back to see if I was following. After a time, the trees unexpectedly stopped, and I found myself in a clearing. A perfect little waterfall was situated in the middle of the clearing. I sighed. The girl in lavender did not stop. She ascended a flight of stone steps that spiraled up to the top of the falls. Once again intrigued, I started after her.

The top of the waterfall was a long, flat stone that was cool on my bare feet. The girl bent down, plucking a flower that matched her dress perfectly. She tucked it behind her ear, then turned to me. She giggled that charming giggle again, straightening. Her hair swished as her head turned to look at the pond below. Without warning, the girl threw herself from the rock. Her slender limbs arched into a perfect swan dive, her hair whipping out like wings behind her. I watched in awe as she slid into the surface with barely a ripple. Her head resurfaced almost immediately. She looked at me, beckoning once again.

I hesitated. Was the water too shallow? What if I were to slip at the last minute and hit the rock? Below, the girl paddled around floating flowers, her eyes trained on me. Suddenly, my fears were all released, and with a sense of complete calm, I jumped from the rock.

There was a moment when time stood still, as I descended to the pond waters. I slid beneath the surface, and the water swallowed me. I hovered underwater, enjoying the clear blue waters around me. I kicked toward the surface, but all of a sudden the surface was a mile away. I kicked and kicked like a woman possessed, but the distance between myself and the surface remained the same. My lungs began to burn, and I realized that I would die here. My head exploded. I needed air—how long would it be before I lost consciousness? I felt something slide around my waist, and then I could breathe again.

I never knew that oxygen had a taste until that moment. The air tasted like honey, and I savored every lung full. When my ragged breath became a little more even, I noticed that I had resurfaced in the Black Lake. How had I gotten there? I heard a voice in my right ear.

"Can you swim?" I nodded mutely. The hand released my waist, and I immediately bobbed below the surface. Panicking, I grabbed hold of my rescuer, pulling myself up again. I heard a dark chuckle. "I'll take that as a 'no.'" The stranger pulled me to shallow waters, then lifted me, an arm supporting my back and an arm beneath my knees.

He sat me down gently in the grass. I had almost fully recovered my breath, and by the light of the full moon, I could finally make out the features of my rescuer. Scorpius Malfoy sat on the shore beside me.

"You!" I gasped. He turned away.

"I suppose you'd like me to leave and forget that you were ever rescued by a Malfoy." He made a move to stand.

"No!" he looked at me quizzically. "Please, what...what happened?

"You were in the lake." Malfoy shrugged, remaining seated.

"How did I get here?"

"You must have been sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking? I walked all the way from the Griffindor dormitories to the Black Lake, without getting caught by any teachers, in my sleep?"

"You have a better explanation?" Malfoy gazed out into the glassy lake.

"It was as if I had been...enchanted or something." I felt the color drain from my face. "I almost died." The reality of it all hit me.

"Yes."

"You saved me."

"Yes."

"Thank-you." A smile flitted across his face, but he didn't look up. "Do you know why I couldn't swim to the surface?" He frowned.

"No."

"But you know something..." I prompted. He looked down, troubled. He didn't answer. "Why were you out here?" I tried again. Scorpius regarded me curiously for a long while. He seemed to be deciding something.

"I was thinking." He answered finally. I scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Got a better one?"

"Nope." I looked at him suspiciously. He refused to meet my gaze. He really was striking, with his fair hair and deep grayish blue eyes. I felt my lips twitch up in a smile, but I forced them down, recalling the stories my family had told me about this boy's father, Draco Malfoy. Why would his son be any different? I shuddered violently. Looking down, I realized I was in nothing but my soaked pajamas—in this case, my wine-colored satin nightgown that fell just above the knees. I blushed eight shades of pink. No wonder Scorpius wouldn't look me in the eyes!

"_Ventusaci." _I muttered. Wind swept up, pulling the moisture from my hair and clothes. I hesitated for a moment, then willed the wind towards Scorpius to dry him as well. He looked up shyly.

"Thanks. Do you think you can walk?" I nodded. We stood and my knees shook beneath me, but after a few steps I was fine. My teeth chattered against the chill autumn night. Scorpius placed his cloak on my shoulders.

"Th-thanks."

Getting back into the school proved much harder than getting out. Filch and Mrs. Norris seemed to be everywhere at once. Scorpius left me in a corridor close to the common room. His footsteps were nearly silent, and I wondered how many times he had sneaked out at night. This was my first. I climbed a staircase and through the portrait hole. My bed was beckoning to me, and despite the thousands of things I had on my mind, I drifted into a dazed sleep almost immediately.


	3. Gifts

**I don't own it, J.K. Rowling does. **

**Chapter Three: Gifts**

"Evey. Evey? Evey!" I woke with a start.

"Wha-?" I answered intelligently.

"Come on, it's almost time for breakfast!" I groaned.

"I don't want to." I whined at the risk of sounding like a two-year-old. I burrowed under the covers. Rose sighed as she crossed to my bed, wrenching the blankets out of my fingers. She threw them on the floor. I groaned, recognizing defeat, and stood up. Rosie gasped.

"What?"

"What are you wearing?" I glanced down at Scorpius Malfoy's cloak, still wrapped around my shoulders.

"I...um....well...."

"That's not your coat...where did you get it? It looks like-" she gasped. "You were with someone last night, weren't you? A boy? Do you have a boyfriend? So soon after...who is he, what are you-"

"Rosie! There's no boy, okay? I was just on a...walk with a friend. That's it. It got cold, he lent me his jacket, I forgot to take it off."

"But didn't you have to take it off to put on your pajamas?" I fumbled for an explanation.

"Um....well...okay, so it was comfortable and I put it back on." Rose looked at me.

"Who is he?" I flinched.

"I...I can't tell you."

"But, Evey..."

"No!"

"Please?"

"NO, ROSE!" Rose's eyes flashed.

"Fine!" She tore out of the room and left me alone with my thoughts. I sighed. How was I supposed to handle this if my best friend couldn't even know? Why was I even putting myself through this? Malfoy wasn't worth anything to me. What did I owe him? My life, a little voice in the back of my mind answered, but I pushed it aside. I changed my clothes hastily, yanking on my robes without bothering to look in the mirror. I stuffed the cloak in my bag and stormed out of the dormitories, narrowly avoiding stepping on Roxie.

The Great Hall bustled with cheerful students comparing schedules and scarfing down food, often simultaneously. I sank into my seat next to Rose, who pointedly ignored me.

"Here." Fred handed me my schedule and taking the seat on my other side.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"What's with her?" he asked, indicating Rose. I shrugged and glanced at my schedule. Transfiguration, Herbology, and double potions with Ravenclaw. I reached for a bagel as I pondered this. How was I going to get Malfoy's cloak back to him without being seen? Not that I was ashamed or anything-well, alright, I was, but not for any personal prejudices. I just wanted to avoid conflict, and my brother and cousins seeing me with a Malfoy would definitely result in conflict.

A rustling sounded from above and the mail swooped in. Our family's barn owl, Hodges, landed a few inches away from my plate. Fred opened the package and skimmed through the letter attached.

"The usual from Mum and Dad. Wishing us luck. Sent us a care package. Puking Pastilles, Extendable Ears, Oh, new product! Exploding Éclairs." Everyone turned to look, even a sulking Rose. No one could resist a demonstration of a new Weasley product. Fred and I Rock-Paper-Scissored to see who would be the guinea pig. I lost. With an exaggerated sigh, I took an éclair and bit into it. Nothing happened. There was a general groan of disappointment as I shrugged and took another bite.

"I don't know about the exploding part, but these éclairs are d-" the pastry exploded in my face. The table hooted with laughter. I smiled and waved my wand about my face and robes, clearing off the cream.

"Impressive." Fred said. I nodded my approval.

"My favorite is still the Chameleon Creams, though." I said, recalling the demonstration last year that caused Fred to turn colors to blend into his surroundings for a week.

"I'll never live that one down, will I?"

"Evey, we'll be late for Transfiguration!" Albus said. I shouldered my bag and followed him out of the Great Hall.

Professor Ludwig, the Transfiguration teacher, was a bean pole of a man with an untamed mane of gray hair. He strode along the aisles, watching us turn goldfish into hamsters. I waved my wand again. Nothing.

"Very good, Miss Weasley!" I heard Ludwig exclaim to Rose, who had just plucked a rather startled hamster from her fishbowl. I frowned and concentrated. Still nothing. By the end of the class, the only thing I had done was give my fish a fur coat.

Herbology was at least a little better. Professor Longbottom had been a good friend of my relatives when they were in school, so he was always kind to me. I was the only one out of all my cousins that had taken Herbology this year. Quite a few years back it had been decided that students need only take Herbology to fourth year, and it was optional after that.

The fall air nipped at me all the way across the grounds. I was glad for the heavy humidity of the greenhouses. The class was tiny—there were no more than fifteen of us. There were mostly Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, with the exception of me and two other Griffindors, Lydia Stone and Alyssa Charters. I smiled at them, but I really wasn't in the mood for chatting right now.

"Evey, how nice to see you!" Professor Neville Longbottom smiled at me as he bustled into the greenhouse.

"Good morning, Professor," I greeted him politely.

"How are your parents, dear? I haven't seen them in quite some time."

"They're great. Business is going quite well."

"Good, good. I must remember to drop them an owl sometime." He clapped his hands.

"Alright, class. Good morning to all of you! As you know, I am Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher. Well, let's not beat about the bush. Everyone put on your gloves and grab a partner."

I glanced around, but everyone already had a partner.

"Evey, you could be in our group!" Lydia called, crossing over to me. Just then, the greenhouse door burst open to reveal a very late Scorpius Malfoy.

"Mr. Malfoy! It would do you well to be on time in the future!" Malfoy mumbled an apology. "No matter, partner up if you would."

"Tough luck, Evey," Lydia hissed to me sympathetically, trotting off to join Alyssa. I took a deep breath and approached Malfoy.

"Looks like we're partners." I said, forcing my face into a smile. The corners of his mouth twitched, but he only nodded. I turned away and snapped on my red dragonhide gloves.

"Everyone ready? Good, now follow me!" Professor Longbottom led them to Greenhouse Two, where there were scores of pots of pretty little red flowers. "These are Snapdragons. There is a common Muggle variety of them that is completely harmless, but why would we be dealing with those in Herbology class?" The class chuckled. "Right, so, as you probably guessed from the title, these flowers will happily bite you if you get too near. It's more of a sting, really. What you need to do is transfer them from those small pots to the larger ones over here. One person needs to prevent the plant from biting, like so," he demonstrated squeezing the back of the flower with two fingers, "while the other scoops the roots out and replants them. Any questions? Good. Begin, if you would."

We gathered plants and pots and took them to an empty table on the far end of the greenhouse. I reached toward the first flower. It snapped at me, and I flinched. Quickly I grabbed the back of it and pinched. It gave a mewling sound, and I bit my lip as I watched it curl up and die.

"Careful, Miss Weasely!"

"Oops..." I murmured. Malfoy gave a strangled snort of laughter. I winced. I hated it when people laughed at me.

"Here, like this." Malfoy lightly pinched the back of the plant. It froze. I quickly scooped it out and placed it in a larger pot.

"You got a nice one." I muttered. Malfoy laughed again.

"No, it's simple. Here, you try." I reached for a second flower. It snapped at me again.

"It likes you better." I pushed the flower pot towards him.

"Here, you have to be quick." I tried again, managing to get my fingers around the pod. It wriggled out of my grasp and bit me hard on the finger.

"Ouch!"

"Quick, and a little firmer than that." I sighed and tried for a fourth time. I felt the flower freeze.

"It worked!"

"Good!" Malfoy chuckled again. We worked quietly for a while, digging up and replanting. Finally, I broke the silence.

"I almost forgot," I said, pulling Scorpius's cloak from my bag. "Here." He took it, accidentally brushing his hand against mine before drawing back quickly. I bit my lip. "Uh, about last night..." He glanced up at me, his face stony. I gulped. "Do you know anything about what happened?" He was silent for a few long moments.

"Alright, class, time to clean up!" Malfoy gathered his things and exited the classroom without a word, leaving me alone. I frowned and cursed myself for expecting something from a Malfoy.

"Poor thing! I can't believe you had to work with the Scorpion!" Lily exclaimed. I shrugged, my mouth full of sandwich. "Was it terrible?" I shrugged again.

"He's a pratt."

"No, he's a _Malfoy..._" Lily said. Everyone laughed. .

"So, how many orders do we have for Exploding Éclairs so far?" I asked Fred.

"Loads! They're already doing better than Leaking Licorice ever did, and it's only been a day!"

"Yes, but Leaking Licorice was a flop." Fred shrugged. I reached for another finger sandwich. Rose was still ignoring me.

"Hey, Evey!" Kristina Chang walked up to our table. "You guys wanna walk to potions with us?" She indicated two other Ravenclaws behind her.

"Sure," I said, finishing my sandwich. Rose followed suit. Albus jumped up to join us. I hid a smile as he matched his pace with Kristina's. She was a lovely girl, with long dark hair and sparkling almond-shaped eyes.

"Have you begun to plan for the Masked Ball yet?" Kristina asked. Ever since the Defeat, there had been a great masked ball on its anniversary.

"Krissy, it's not for months yet!" I laughed.

"I know, but still..." she sighed. I couldn't blame her, I was excited, too. In my mind, I had already begun to toy with designs for this year.

Professor Falwey, a pretty but stern woman in her late thirties, began class by giving us a lecture about our potions OWLs. She gave us an outline over the contents of the Ordinary Wizarding Levels, and explained what we would be covering over the next year. I doodled in the margins of my outline, letting my mind wander. Later, I would realize that I had drawn a rough sketch of the girl in Lavender.

The rest of the week passed without much excitement. Everyone was still adjusting from the carefree, frivolous days of summer to the rigorous schedule of school. Saturday came with a general feeling of relief.

I woke late. Rose was already gone, she'd left a note saying that she'd be down at the Quidditch field, helping the boys and Lily practice for tryouts. I pulled on some jeans and a sweater, taking a moment to survey my mahogany-colored hair that fell in an angle down my jawline in the mirror on the wall. With a shrug, I threw my sketchbook and pencils into my bag, and headed outside. Fall was definitely upon us. The trees were turning, and the air had a chill to it that had not been there in the previous months. I wandered the grounds aimlessly for a while, finally finding myself at Hagrid's cabin.

"'Allo, Evey!" Came a familiar booming voice from behind me. I turned to see Hagrid emerging from the Forbidden Forest. Fang bounded over to me, drool trailing behind him.

"Hello, Professor!" I greeted him as I patted Fang. He rolled his eyes.

"No need to be all formal wi' me, y' know that! Come on, I 'ave somethin' to show y'." He led me a ways into the forest, stopping short when Witherwings (or Buckbeak, as some knew him), the lead Hippogriff, materialized from the trees. Fang hung back, whimpering softly. Hagrid and I both nodded to the enormous beast, and he returned the gesture. Gently, he picked at the shoulder of my sweater.

"Hello, Beaky," I murmured, stroking his broad face. I had known him since my first year at Hogwarts. He turned around and headed through the trees, pausing a few yards away to look back, beckoning. We followed him to a small clearing, where Featherfoot, a silvery mare, lay. She raised her regal head as we approached. Buckbeak went to stand by her, looking at a snow-white lump by her side. As I watched, the lump unfolded and stood up on shaky legs. I gasped as the new-born Hippogriff foal teetered towards us. I dropped to my knees to get a closer look. The Hippogriff turned to look at Featherfoot, who blinked for a moment, then lay her head down again, exhausted. Taking this as permission, the foal approached my outstretched hand. It was completely white, except for the hooves, feet, and big eyes, which were obsidian-black.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as it pushed up against me.

"Cute, ain't she? Dunno what to call 'er, though. She don't like anythin' I suggest." Hagrid bent to stroke the foal. "What abou' Frostyclaw?" The foal blinked up at him and hissed. I laughed. "Icytail?" Another hiss. This happened about eight more times.

"What about...Artemis?" I asked, finally breaking the cycle. Hagrid looked at me dubiously.

"Whas' that mean?"

"It's Greek. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. What do you think?" I stroked the picky little foal. She spun around, whistling. "Artemis?" I asked again, and she flapped her downy wings.

"Looks like you named 'er." Hagrid said, chuckling. "Still partial to Snowbeak, myself, but I suppose it's her choice." Artemis reared up, placing her taloned front feet on my shoulders. She whistled at me. I glanced up at Hagrid, whose jaw had dropped. Artemis whistled again.

"Whistle back," he whispered. Bewildered, I mimicked her whistle. The foal lifted one foot and looked at my hand. Getting the message, I lifted my hand. Quick as a flash, she used her razor-sharp beak to slash at her foot. I gasped at the ruby blood. She moved her beak towards my hand, slowly this time, as if asking permission. I held my hand still, sensing the importance. Artemis pricked my palm, and pressed her leathery foot against it. My head reeled. It was as if I had become Artemis: I saw things through her eyes, understood her.

Suddenly, I was back in my own body. Artemis took her feet off my shoulders. I glanced around the clearing. The rest of the Hippogriff flock had emerged from the trees. All were watching me. I glanced at Hagrid, who had moved back a ways. Buckbeak approached me, looking me straight in the eyes. He knelt before me, his knees folding. All of the others followed suit, even Featherfoot dropped her head in respect.

"What's happening, Hagrid?" I asked uneasily.

"They jus' accepted you into the herd," Hagrid said, amazed. I stood, and all the Hippogriffs stood as well. Artemis danced over to me, pecked me on the arm, then bounded away. I laughed, chasing Artemis and tagging her back. It became a game. We chased each other through the clearing, laughing and whistling alike. The other Hippogriffs dissolved once again into the forest, leaving Buckbeak and Featherfoot to watch us. After a while, Buckbeak chirped loudly, and Artemis, hanging her head, trudged over to her mother. Out of breath, I turned to Hagrid.

"Tha's our signal t' leave." he said. I nodded and followed him through the trees, waving to my hippogriff friend. "Evey...wha' jus' happened back there..." Hagrid started, "Tha' sort of thing don't happen much."

"Well, haven't they done it to you?" Hagrid shook his head. I raised my eyebrows. "But they've known you for ages...what-"

"You didn't jus' make a new friend. That there's magic. You've become a part of their herd, even in your 'ead." He tapped his forehead.

"Oh..." was all I could manage to say. I was stunned. All I'd done was suggest her name.

"I should pro'ly start headin' back." Hagrid said, "I hafta plan my next lesson. See y' around!" I nodded, and began to walk off. "An', Evey?" I turned. "Be careful." I nodded. With a wave, I turned back to the school, still puzzling out what he meant.

I picked my way along the rocky shore of the Black Lake, trying to forget that only the night before I had been thrashing around in the lake's deep waters. I shuddered. Collapsing on a flat rock, I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my socks, ignoring the cool air, and buried my toes in the grainy sand. I pulled out my sketchbook and began to roughly outline the edge of the lake, trying to capture with graphite the way the water lapped at the rocks. I don't know how long I sat there before I heard the deep voice behind me.

"You're very good, you know." I jumped, dropping my pencil. Wheeling around, I came face to face with Scorpius Malfoy, who was crouching on the rock outcropping above me.

"How-" I began, but my throat closed and I had to begin again. "How long have you been up there?" He slid down the rocky slope easily, grabbing the dropped pencil and handing it to me.

"A while." He said. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared off across the lake. Pressing my lips together, I made a decision.

"Do-" I cleared my throat. "Do you want to sit down?" I nodded towards the sand beside me. He regarded me cautiously for a moment, then, with a shrug, sat down beside me and continued to stare out at the lake. I returned to sketching the shore, only to realize that the part I was about to draw was now blocked by Scorpius. "Um...do you mind?" I asked, nodding toward my sketchbook.

"Sorry-" he started to move, but I stopped him.

"No, I meant...do you mind if I draw you?" He blinked, surprised, then shook his head. I turned to face him, folding my legs around me Indian-style.

Scorpius Malfoy proved to be a very good subject. He hardly seemed to breathe as I filled in the shadows around him, his set jaw and his toned arms. When I reached his brooding eyes, I slowed, trying to get the shape just so, to capture the way the pale eyelashes shaded them slightly. It must have been an over an hour that we sat there, artist and subject, before I held up the finished project, criticizing my work.

"May I see?" I blushed as I handed over the sketchbook, waiting with bated breath for his reaction. After a long moment, a strange thing happened. A shy smile slowly unfurled, transforming his face. He looked at me, and I couldn't help but return the smile. We held the gaze for a moment, and then the silence was broken by an unsubtle growl from my stomach. I felt my face flush scarlet, and Scorpius chuckled.

"It's past lunchtime," he said.

"Sorry," I said quickly, "I get caught up in my work sometimes and I lose track of time-"

"It's alright," he said, "really. I know a few of the house elves in the kitchen, I'm sure they can scrounge up something. Follow me." Replacing my sketching things, I obliged, and he led me up to the school, down a few spiraling staircases, and to a narrow corridor far below ground. He tickled a pear in a still-life of a bowl of fruit, and the painting swung open to reveal the Hogwarts kitchens. We removed our jackets in the warmth.

House elves scurried everywhere, making dinner preparations. One stopped at the sound of the painting opening, and exclaimed at them.

"Oh! Master Scorpius, how do you do?"

"Well, thank-you, Landzy. How are you?"

"Oh, wonderful, Master Scorpius, Landzy is pleased to have students here once again! But who is your friend?" I smiled at Landzy.

"Evelyn Weasley." He smiled a gap-toothed smile.

"Was there something you were needing, Master Scorpius, Mistress Evelyn?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could spare a couple sandwiches for us? We missed lunch and were hoping for a little snack before dinner." Landzy smiled, glad for the task, and scurried off. In a few moments, he returned, beckoning for them to follow. Scorpius turned to me and shrugged. We followed Landzy through the bustling kitchen and to a back room. Wooden shelves held hundreds of bottles of pumpkin juice. Landzy showed us to an overturned wooden crate, where a large plate of sandwiches and two cups of pumpkin juice sat. Two cushions were placed on either side of the crate—a makeshift table. I smiled at the house elf.

"Thank you, Landzy, this is perfect!" Scorpius smiled, and Landzy bowed.

"A pleasure to serve you both. Now, if you would excuse Landzy, there is much to be done!" He was gone with a pop. Scorpius motioned towards the crate in an 'after you' gesture. I sat on one of the cushions, and he took the other. We ate in silence for a while. I glanced up at him, shyly, and spoke.

"Mal-uh...Scorpius?" He met my gaze, "Thanks for...this." The corners of his mouth turned upward.

"Evelyn?" he said.

"Call me Evey," I said, "everyone does." The last part came out as a murmur.

"Evey." He said, as if testing it out, and I pressed my lips together to keep from grinning stupidly at the sound of his voice speaking my name. "If you're Evey, then call me...Will."

"Will?"

"My middle name, after my great grandfather. It's...what my grandmother calls me." I nodded. "Anyway, Evey? There was...something I was going to give you, earlier, at the lake." He removed something from his jacket pocket, which had been at his feet, and handed it to me. It was a necklace, a plain silver band, with a clasp shaped like a snake's head, biting its tail. The snake's eyes were tiny emeralds. Recalling my dream, I shuddered.

"Is something...wrong?" He asked.

"No, it's just...the night of the...the...you know. I...had a dream about a silver snake. That's all." He nodded somberly.

"This necklace is charmed. It will make it so that you don't dream, so that...nothing like the other night can happen when I'm not around to...to stop it." I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I put on the necklace, fumbling with the clasp. He reached across the table to help. His hands were warm, and they left my skin tingling long after he had pulled away. He looked at me, startled.

"I...have to go." He stood up suddenly, nearly overturning the crate, and heading towards the door to the kitchen.

"Will!" He turned. "Can...can I...see you...again?" The corners of his mouth turned upward in that shadow of a smile that was fast becoming familiar.

"I'll talk to you in Herbology on Monday. And I'll...see you around." He turned and was gone. I smiled to myself, my fingers absentmindedly stroking the necklace. What had I gotten myself into? And more importantly, why didn't I care?


	4. Interrogations

**Don't own, never will. **

**Chapter Four: Interrogations**

I stalked up to the Gryffindor common room, puzzling over my strange day. I had been fairly certain that Malfoy..._Will_...despised me. Now I wasn't so sure.

"Where have _you _been?" Rose demanded when I entered our dormitory.

"Uh...out?" Rose rolled her eyes and hopped off of the top bunk to sit beside me.

"Out with...whom?" She smiled deviously.

"Um...no one?" I have never been a good liar.

"Lies! I know you! You have that look on your face...so...what's his name?" Flushing, I stood and went to pet Roxie, who was sitting on the windowsill.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rose snorted. "How was practice?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Evey..." I rolled my eyes.

"His name is...Will." Rose jumped up and clapped.

"Ah-ha! I knew it! Thank goodness you moved on from that rat, Finnigan...ugh. So...do I know this _Will?_" I shook my head. "Then tell me about him...now!" I heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Well...I don't really know much about him. He's sort of quiet and...shy, I guess, but...it's like...we're alike. I don't _know_..."

"What house is he in?" I flinched. I had known this was coming, and I hated to outright lie to Rose like this, but...

"Ravenclaw."

"Ah, young love...ow! That was totally uncalled for!" Rose exclaimed after I had snatched up a pillow and clocked her upside the head with it.

"Oh, come on, you deserved that. Anyway, I have other things to tell you..." I recounted the encounter with little Artemis, hoping for some information from my brainy friend. Rose listened intently, only speaking when I was through.

"I've read about that...'bonding,' it's called. It's really rare and a great honor to be bonded by a hippogriff," She went over to the desk we shared and picked up her copy of _Magical Creatures—Separating Myth from Fact, _one of our required books for Care of Magical Creatures. Luckily, this one was a run-of-the-mill book. My father had told me horror stories about the textbooks Professor Hagrid had assigned when he was in school.

"Here!" Rose handed the book to me. I read the passage out loud.

"'Hippogriffs are possibly the most misunderstood of all magical creatures. While generally friendly, they require the utmost respect from all wishing to approach them. The hierarchy of Hippogriff herds is one thing that wizards have long sought to study, but has proved to be nearly impossible to obtain any information on, due to the privacy that hippogriffs demand. The only things known to date are that herds can consist of as few as two to as many as a hundred specimens, and that there is generally a dominant male.

'There have been a few accounts of hippogriffs accepting humans into their herds, but this only occurs when a newborn animal 'bonds' with a human, which is a difficult and rare feat, considering that hippogriff foals are closely guarded by the entire herd. However, on the rare occasion that this does occur, the lucky few who have experienced this bond are said to have mental links with their particular foal for their entire lives.'" I shook my head in wonder and turned to Rose, who was gawking at me.

"Wow. I'm speechless," Rose said.

"There's a first!" I laughed, "Alert the _Prophet, _Rose Weasley's speechless!"

"Really, Evey! Do you know how lucky you are?"

"I know, I know...but what am I supposed to say? I mean...wow." Rose nodded.

"Come on, let's go tell the boys, and while we look for them, you can tell me more about your day with Will!" I groaned in dismay, but Rose only laughed maliciously.

The date for the first Hogsmede trip was posted outside the Great Hall. Girls chatted happily about ordering dresses early for the winter ball at the new store that had opened in Hogsmede. Even Rose, who was generally more interested in studying than fashion, entertained the idea of dress shopping the following weekend.

"We should have a girl's day, Evey! We can go to Madame Levine's and see if there's anything that catches our fancy!" Rose exclaimed at breakfast on Monday morning. I rolled my eyes.

"Rose, you know I wouldn't last ten minutes dress shopping...I wouldn't be any fun at all. Besides, you know I always make my dresses, anyway. Let's just do what we always do in Hogsmede...get butterbeers and window-shop until we wind up at Honeyduke's. That way the guys can come."

"Hear, hear!" Fred piped up. Rose frowned.

"Oh, forget you! You probably just want to go snog with your new boyfriend, anyway...oops."

"Ro-ose!" I exclaimed, but the damage was done.

"What's that? Evey, care to explain?" Fred asked, his mouth full of bacon.

"Um...I've got to go," I said quickly, grabbing a blueberry muffin. "I just remembered something that I forgot to do for Herbology...see you at lunch!" I shot Rose a dirty look and all but fled from the Great Hall, leaving the rest of my cousins to shout questions behind me.

It was drizzling slightly outside. I glanced upward as I headed towards the greenhouses, buttoning up my jacket.

"Evelyn! What a pleasure!" Professor Longbottom greeted me warmly.

"Good morning, professor, did you need any help?"

"Actually, if you'd set out these--" the professor was interrupted by the sound of the greenhouse door opening again, and I had a hunch who it was before I turned around. "Mr. Malfoy! Feeling a tad guilty for your tardiness last week?" Will nodded, his almost-smile in place. "Well, you can help Miss Weasley with setting out these spades. We're cultivating Pinching Pansies today...oh, that reminds me..." the professor disappeared into a storeroom. I glanced at Will.

"Hi," I said, undoubtedly trying to woo him with my wit.

"Hello," he said. "You know, I never actually liked Herbology before..." I blushed just as the professor reentered the greenhouse.

"Alright, Miss Weasley?"

"Yes...a bit warm in here, isn't it?" I muttered, unbuttoning my jacket. Will helped me out of it, causing me to blush deeper. I glanced up to see if the professor had seen, but if he had he didn't let on as he scurried about, moving potted flowers from the adjacent room to the low tables around the greenhouse. We followed him, placing spades at each of the tables. I fought viciously to control my pulse and to calm the gnawing feeling somewhere along my diaphragm.

Slowly, other students began to filter in. Alyssa and Lydia found me and struck up a conversation about dresses. I feigned interest, keeping Will in my peripheral vision. Finally, Professor Longbottom began class.

"Alright, partner up again, same as last week if you would. These partners will be yours for the rest of the year, so learn to cooperate!" Alyssa and Lydia glanced at me guiltily, and I quickly concealed my true feelings behind a disappointed expression as I joined Will at a far table.

"Did you hear that? Stuck with me for the rest of the year," Will said breezily.

"The horror," I replied. I tried to pay attention to the professor's exuberant speech about the fanged flowers before us, but that feat soon proved a lot easier said than done, especially with my partner standing next to me...when the professor finally turned us loose, I realized that I had no idea what our task was or how to begin.

"Uh...you didn't happen to catch any of that, did you?" I asked Will. He chuckled.

"You know, I didn't."

The rest of the week passed quickly, peppered with glances across corridors and looks shared in Potions class with Will. Saturday morning arrived and I prepared for Hogsmede with Rose. Lydia and Alyssa invited us to come dress shopping with them, but I quickly told them we had other plans, but to find us after they were finished so we could have a butterbeer. They agreed and scurried off to find other friends.

"So," Rosie said after our roommates had left. "Are you really going to spend the day with me or do you have _other _plans?" She teased

"Oh, can it, Rose. We're not a couple or anything...anyway he's not going to Hogsmede today." Rose looked a tad disappointed, but shrugged.

"Well, then let's go."

We met James, Albus, Fred, Lily, and Hugo at Honeyduke's, where we stocked up on Every Flavor Beans and Sugar Quills. Our group headed over to the Three Broomsticks. Fred tried unsuccessfully to order a Firewhisky, and we finally all ordered butterbeers.

"Don't look now," Lily whispered to me, "But the Scorpion is looking at you!" I turned my head slightly and caught sight of Will, sitting with a few other Slytherins, but gazing at me. As soon as my head turned, he looked away. I pressed my lips together to hide my smile. I turned to my cousins and shrugged.

"You know, he's really not all that bad. We're partners in Herbology, and he's quite...civil." I said. There was a silence, then Fred began to laugh. The laughter picked up around my table.

"Oh, that was rich, Evey...nice." I looked at my hands, which were folded in my lap.

"Oh, look," Rose exclaimed, and I turned, hopeful for a distraction. "See all the people at Madame Levine's?" She sighed. Normally I would have ignored her, but I was desperate to steer the conversation away from Will and willing to make a sacrifice.

"Oh, al_right, _Rose. Let's go-but only for a few minutes!" My cousin jumped up excitedly and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the booth. Lily followed behind us. "See you guys later," I said. Fred hummed an ominous tune as I was dragged from the safety of the Three Broomsticks and into the mayhem of the dress shop.

Madame Levine's was undoubtedly woman's territory. There were plates of frosted sugar cookies on little end tables, and pink armchairs with matching throw pillows were arranged so that girls could rest between dresses. A bright banner was stretched above the register, reading "Winter Ball Headquarters." Long tables situated around the register were lined with every sort of mask you could imagine. Nearly every girl third year and older must be in the store.

Upon entering, Rose gave a high-pitched squeal and made a mad dash for the nearest rack of lacy contraptions meant to pass as dresses. I snagged a sugar cookie and trailed Rose, who jumped from dress to dress excitedly. Even Lily, usually so level-headed, was caught up in the moment. Rose held up frilly pink things for me to see, and I cringed at each one. As Rose disappeared into a fitting room, I made my way over to the long tables where the masks were. Several girls crowded around, trying on the intricately beaded and feathered things. A flash of something bright caught my eye, and I sifted through the bright masks to find the source. Finally, I freed a simple half-mask from the pile, and held it up to the light. It was very plain compared to the other masks on display, with no embellishment but a subtle flower design along the edges.

Lily, Rose, and I exited the dress shop some time later. I held a dainty box containing the silver mask, wrapped in tissue paper. Rose was in a foul mood.

"I can't believe that you're the only one of us that bought anything, and you didn't even want to go!" she pouted.

"Oh, come off it, Rosie, you have three months! And we can go shopping over Christmas break, remember?" She nodded. "Let's go find the guys." Fred was demonstrating Exploding Eclairs to a gaggle of first years, and the rest of the group was not too far off. We rounded them up and began to head back to the school.

When I stopped by our room to drop off my purchases before heading to dinner, I noticed Roxie and a strange black cat sitting on the window ledge outside. I cracked the window to let them in.

"Hello, Rox, who's your friend?" The cat meowed, and I bent down to read his collar. There was a rolled up piece of parchment tied to his tag. Frowning, I removed and unrolled it.

_E- _

_Can you meet me in the defense against the dark arts hallway at seven?_

_Send a message with Lysander._

_-W_

"Are you Lysander?" I asked the cat. He meowed. I scribbled my reply beneath Will's on the parchment and replaced it beneath the cat's collar. "Could you give him that for me?" I asked. Lysander rubbed against my legs. I cracked the window for him, and he jumped out onto the ledge. I watched him go.

"Why can't you deliver my messages?" I asked Roxie. She looked at me and yawned. I shook my head at her before heading down to the great hall.

"What's wrong with you?" James asked at dinner. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Sorry, just tired. Hey, I think I'm going to go and take a bath. See you guys later." I excused myself and headed in the direction of the girl's baths, but took the turn to the dark arts hallway instead. I was there first. I turned to a man in a portrait.

"You wouldn't happen to have the time, would you?" I asked.

"Five to seven," Will's voice answered behind me.

"Hello." I willed my heart to beat again.

"I want to show you something." He beckoned for me to follow, then led me down a little-used hallway and stopped at a large vase. He pulled the handle and it swung aside, revealing a narrow doorway. "After you." I stepped into a large drawing room. A single, over-sized chair sat in front of a roaring hearth. A few books lay on a table beside the chair.

"What is this place?" I asked him. Will shrugged.

"I found it in my second year. I thought you might like it."

"It's so...private." Will sank into the chair and motioned beside him for me to sit, too. "Was...there a reason you wanted to meet me tonight?" I asked him as I sank next to him. Our arms brushed slightly.

"Not really..." he grinned suddenly. "I just...wanted to see you." I was surprised he couldn't hear the blood rushing through my veins as I returned his smile.

"Oh." I murmured. "I wanted to see you, too."

"Your cousins...don't like me, do they?" He asked.

"They don't know you. Anyway, don't mind what they think. I've been ignoring their opinions for sixteen years, and I've turned out alright." I was rewarded with a laugh. "They just think that, since our fathers were enemies, then we have to be. Very Shakespearean, you know."

"And you don't?" I shook my head.

"Well, I am most certainly not my father, and I'm fairly sure you're not your father, so what's the fuss?" He bit his lip.

"My father wouldn't necessarily agree with that logic." He murmured.

"Well, who agrees with their parents?" I asked. He smiled again. "I mean, take my brother, for instance. My dad had a twin brother that was killed in the war, and Fred is named after him. But Fred isn't the Fred that my dad lost so long ago. Dad expects my brother to come and help him run Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after he graduates, but Fred wants to work at the Ministry...see my point?" Will nodded reluctantly.

"I see, but...well, it doesn't matter. Tell me more about your family, they sound a lot more interesting than mine."

"Well...like I said, my dad owns a joke shop and he's always experimenting with new things...they get him into trouble all the time. Like once, when I was five, he was experimenting with Transfiguring Treacles, these chocolates that make you grow a beak or a tail or something, and he accidentally left them out. So, of course I found one and ate it—which would have been alright, if the formula hadn't been too strong. As it was, it turned me into an elephant. Well, I panicked and started to run around...so when my mom came up to see what sounded like a herd of elephants tromping all around upstairs, she found an actual elephant. I've never seen her so mad...it was great." Another laugh from Will. I retold countless stories from my rather colorful childhood, and we laughed until our sides ached and we were gasping for breath.

"So...what about you? You've got to have stories, growing up in Malfoy Manor, right?" Will lowered his eyes.

"Let's just say that your childhood was a lot more eventful than mine was. Being an only child is rather dull, in all honesty."

"Well, I more or less grew up with six siblings...seven if you count Teddy Lupin...there was never any time to be by myself. Big families aren't really all they're cracked up to be, either."

"I think we came from two extremes," Will yawned.

"Yeah," I answered, gazing into the fire.

The next thing I recall is waking up and realizing that I was curled against Will, still in the secret study. My hand and cheek were pressed against his chest, my knees were pulled up against my stomach, and his arm was draped over my shoulders. We fit against each other perfectly. I looked up at him. He had fallen asleep with a smile on his face.

"Will!" I whispered sharply.

"Hmm?"

"Will! Wake up!" His head jerked up and he looked around at the walls and the glowing embers in the fireplace.

"What...?" He finally looked down at me, and realization dawned on him.

"We fell asleep," I murmured, sitting up. He took his arm off of my shoulders. I wished he would put it back on...it was cold without the fire. "What time is it?" I asked him.

"...half past eleven," he said, glancing at his watch.

"Oops." We scrambled out of the chair and crept to the door. Mrs. Norris stood in the corridor. "Bloody Hell," I muttered. Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a package. Placing it on the ground in front of Mrs. Norris, he motioned to me. We crept away from her.

"What was that?" I whispered.

"Cream-filled sardines...she's easy to bribe," Will whispered back.

"I, however, am not so easily dissuaded," came a stern voice from behind us. We turned to see Professor Ludwig, tapping his foot.

"Bloody Hell," Will said under his breath.

"Three hours! You'll miss our Quidditch try-outs!" Lily exclaimed. I had been sent up to my room.

"What did you even do?" Hugo demanded.

"Um...I...fell asleep in the bath, and when I woke up it was past curfew and I got caught." I said, waiting with bated breath to see if they bought it.

"But you _never _get in trouble! Why'd it have to be today?" Lily whined. Rose had already informed me that she would not speak to me until I told her the truth.

"Funny, being in the bath for four hours without even getting wet," Rose muttered.

"What was that, Rosie?" asked Albus.

"Nothing." Rose said, picking at an omelet.

"I'm sorry, guys...but you can recount to me in grueling detail how the try-outs go, alright?"

"I guess..." Lily muttered. My cousins turned the conversation to who would make the team. I had nothing to contribute, and Rose was pointedly ignoring me, so I glanced across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table, where Will was getting similarly ragged on for detention by his fellows. I watched Marc Zabini and Mindie Moon heckling him about his detention. He caught my eye and winked. I gave him a small smile. At least I knew he was looking forward to the detention as much as I was.

I helped myself to an apple, half-listening to the argument about brooms Hugo and Lily were having.

Will and I were sentenced to hand-dust the trophies in the trophy room, which might not have been too horrible a punishment, if the trophy room wasn't as long as a Quidditch field. We set to work, and every once in a while, Filch would poke around and inspect things.

"When do you think Filch will retire?" I muttered to Will.

"I'd expect when Mrs. Norris dies..."

"Oh, so we've got a couple generations to go, then." We broke into a laughing fit, and Filch turned around, giving us the stink-eye.

"Dust!" He shouted at us, and left. We worked in earnest for a while. I had been mulling over a question for some time, and I finally spat it out.

"Will?"

"Hm?"

"Why were you sorted into Slytherin, do you think?" He didn't answer right away.

"I think...that it's mainly your own decision where you're placed. Didn't the sorting hat ask you where you wanted to be?" I nodded.

"All of the Weasleys have been sorted into Gryffindor." I said.

"And all of the Malfoys have been sorted into Slytherin."

"So you chose to be a Slytherin?"

"I chose to do what was expected of me. So did you."

"Yes, I guess I did. Do you ever...wish you had chosen differently?" He gave me his almost-smile.

"I didn't," he said, "until I met you." I felt my cheeks get hot. He turned to look at me. "You know, I've never seen someone blush as much as you do."

"Well I didn't used to blush so much until you came along." I said, feigning offense. He wiped off a Quidditch trophy, then set it back in its place.

"I think it's cute," he said with a devious smile. I blushed deeper.

"Stop it!" I exclaimed, coming down off of a ladder to reach the trophies on the floor. He came closer.

"Veeery cute..." I covered my cheeks with my hands.

"No!"

"Adorable, even..." I walked to the other side of the trophy case.

"Scorpius Malfoy..." I warned as he followed.

"Evelyn Weasley..." He mocked me.

"Stoppit..." I squeaked as he chased me around the cases. We ended up on either side of a table.

"You're trapped," he observed, grinning.

"Not if I can help it," I made a break for it, and almost made it past him, but he snatched my wrist.

"Ha!" He said victoriously, grabbing my other wrist and pulling me around to face him.

"Truce?" I pleaded.

"Not a chance," he pulled me closer, releasing my wrists and placing his hands on either side of my face. Our lips were centimeters apart when Filch burst back into the room.

"Oh, what do we have here?" We jumped apart, grabbing our rags and dusting the trophies closest to us, both of us blushing furiously this time. "That's what I thought." He loomed over us for the rest of our detention, inspecting our work. Finally, he barked at us.

"Alright, you can go!" We dropped the rags and bounded out of the trophy room as fast as we could. We paused at castle door.

"I've got to go this way," I said, nodding up the stairs.

"I've got to go that way," Will said, nodding down the hallway towards the dungeons. .

"Well-" I was interrupted by a large gaggle of Quidditch hopefuls that burst through the door.

"Results posted for all four teams outside the Great Hall tomorrow!" someone from within the throng yelled.

"Hey, Scorp, how was detention?" someone called, at the same time James shouted,

"Evey! What's up?" in my direction. Will and I glanced at each other and mouthed our goodbyes as we joined our respective parties.


	5. Meetings

**If I told you I owned these characters, then I would not be telling the truth.**

**Chapter Five: Meetings**

Halloween came and went uneventfully, and November marched through slowly. It would have been just another fall at Hogwarts, if it hadn't been for my romps with Artemis and after-dinner meetings with Will—although he did not try to kiss me again, no matter how much I wished he would. In fact, he was a bit distracted lately. He would talk with me for hours on end...and then I would give one mention of my sleepwalking episode or his family, and he shut down. It was aggravating, to say the least.

Rose forgave me in the excitement of the Quidditch outcome. Lily was seeker, Hugo and Fred were chasers, and James was keeper. Albus, Rose, and I were content to watch. Winter approached, and I began to feel a lot easier outside, with the Black Lake frozen over. Soon my nightmare seemed just that—a nightmare. I began to forget about the girl in lavender and the silver snake altogether. Before any of us knew it, December was upon us.

I rose one Saturday morning and looked outside to see the ground covered in about five inches of snow. I pulled on my heavy cloak, gloves, and boots before racing outside without bothering to wake my sleepy room-mates. When I reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Artemis came bounding to meet me, but skidded to a stop when she saw the snow. I felt her confusion as if it were my own.

"It's snow, Arty! Like rain, only more fun!" I scooped some up and threw it into the air, letting it rain down. She looked at me suspiciously. "Come on!" I called. She stepped gingerly onto the white ground. A made a snowball and tossed it at her, catching her square on the head. She jumped about a foot in the air, then gave chase. I laughed, running even though I was fully aware that I was no match for the rambunctious hippogriff. When she caught up to me, I realized how large she had gotten.

"Wow, Arty. You're almost as tall as your mother!" She chirped happily, then knelt down. I immediately understood, but I was a little bit apprehensive as I climbed onto her back. "You're sure about this?" I asked her. She gave me a reassuring chirp before she began to gallop through the snow, holding out her wings, which had shed their down in the last couple months. I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, it was as if we were part of the same body. I could feel my arms and legs, but I could also feel Arty's wings and hooves as we picked up speed, and, finally, lifted off. I opened my eyes. We soared above the frozen Black Lake, whipping through the damp clouds. This was nothing like riding a hard, inanimate broom—it was like flapping my own wings. We turned gracefully, racing toward the school. I guided Artemis up to the window of our dormitory. We hovered as I knocked on the frosty windowpane. I saw Rose roll out of bed and stare at us with wide eyes. Then, we were off, climbing above the highest peaks of the highest towers, only to dive back downward.

I lost track of how long we were in the air, but I do know that, when we came to a skidding halt in the powdery snow, quite a crowd had gathered beneath us. I hopped off of Artemis, patting her bright back.

"Thanks, Arty." The crowd began to applaud us, and Artemis took a dainty bow. I laughed and imitated her. Featherfoot chirped from the forest edge, and Artemis trotted towards her mother, glancing back at me in a farewell. The crowd dispersed, dissolving into several different snowball fights. Rose rushed up to me.

"Evey that was awesome!" I nodded.

"Yeah, it was like...we were the same." Rose was puzzled, but I opted not to explain. "Meanwhile, I'm starving. Let's go get breakfast." I said, and we headed through the war zone to the school.

I spent the rest of the day lazing about in the common room with Rose, discussing, among other things, the upcoming ball.

"So...you're going with...Will, I presume?" I frowned.

"We haven't really discussed it, actually."

"Evey, I asked Kristina Chang and...there _is _no "Will" in Ravenclaw house." Oops. "So where are you _really _sneaking off to two nights a week?" I gulped. Only Rose would actually take the time to check out my story. I sighed.

"How long have you known this?"

"About a month, now..."

"A month?!"

"Well...I tried to bring it up a lot, but we were never alone!" I smiled. It was times like these that I loved Rose, despite her nosiness.

"Okay. You found me out, and here's the truth. I really have been meeting someone named Will, but...well...how about I introduce you?" Rose nearly jumped for joy. A held up a hand. "But you have to promise me one thing," I told her. She frowned.

"What?"

"You cannot tell _anyone _else...at least for a while. Okay?" Rose nodded. I excused myself and went up to the dormitory. To my convenience, Lysander was sitting on the window ledge. I let him in and read the note attached to his collar.

_E-_

_Usual time, usual place?_

_-W_

I scribbled a reply on the back:

_W-_

_Why don't we meet in front of the Library, usual time? There's someone I'd like you to meet._

_-E_

Seven could not arrive quickly or slowly enough. I glanced at Will, three tables away, and he frowned. I looked at Rose and then back at him. He nodded. He was alright with meeting Rose. I just hoped she would feel the same way towards him.

At ten to seven, I stood up. Rose followed suit.

"We're going to go study in the library," I informed my cousins. They hardly glanced up, involved in a heated discussion over Quidditch tactics.

"Where are we really going?" Rose asked excitedly. I shrugged.

"The library." She looked a tad disappointed, but didn't say anything. There were a few devoted students in the library, so I ducked into a nearby deserted corridor instead. We leaned against the cold stone, waiting. I heard footsteps approaching.

"Wait here," I murmured to Rose, and stepped into the main hallway. Will looked at me apprehensively.

"You sure this will be okay?" he asked. I nodded and, taking his hand, led him into our corridor.

"Will, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Rose. Rose, this is Will." Rose looked up and froze.

"Nice to meet you, Rose." Will let my hand go and extended it to her. Her eyes flitted between Will and I, stunned. I pleaded silently for her to take his hand. Then, as if she had suddenly realized that this was, indeed, happening, she took his hand.

"I've...heard a lot about you...Will." I breathed an inner sigh of relief. Will excused himself, claiming he had a test to study for. He said a polite goodbye to Rose and winked at me, then he was gone.

"Um...let's talk in the dorm, okay?" I asked her. She nodded mutely, and we trudged to the common room.

I explained everything to her, beginning with the first night and ending with the past month. She listened without any interruption, and when I was finally finished, she spoke.

"You could have told me sooner." I hung my head.

"I know that, now...I was just...scared."

"Well, if what you said about that dream was true, then you have a lot worse things than your own family to be afraid of." I nodded, fingering the snake necklace, which I had not taken off since Will had given it to me. "If someone really wants you...dead...then, they'll be trying to figure out another way to do it. I'd be aware if I were you." She shook her head. "I still can't believe you never told me this, Evey! You must have been so scared..."

"Well, actually," I admitted sheepishly, "I felt...safe, knowing that Will was watching out for me..."

"Evey, I know that you like Malfoy...sorry, _Will, _but can you honestly trust him with your life?"

"I...I know this sounds stupid, Rose, but...yes. I trust him. I've just got this feeling...I can't explain it." Rose was silent for a while.

"Well, if you trust him, Evey, then I do, too," she said, "But I would be careful if I were you." She left me alone with my thoughts. Rose never failed to surprise me. Sometimes she was so childish, and then she would turn around and behave wise beyond her years.

The week before the break arrived, it seemed to me, rather suddenly. I was just stuffing the last of my things in my suitcase for the break when I heard a meowing at the window. I got up to let Lysander in, hardly needing to read the note attached to his collar.

We met at the secret study, as usual. He was there before I was, already sitting in the chair. I took my place beside him, carrying a thin package wrapped in bright paper.

"Hello again." He said. "What's that?"

"A turnip." I replied dryly.

"For me?" I raised my eyebrows. He laughed. "It just so happens, I got you something, too." He produced a small package from his pocket and handed it to me.

"But," I warned, "You can't open yours until Christmas morning." He laughed.

"You can't either, since there's a charm on yours."

"There's one on yours, too." We shared a laugh.

"I'm going to miss you," Will said out of the blue. I bit my lip.

"Do you think there's any way we could ride together on the train?" I asked him.

"I don't know...probably not without raising suspicion....how did Rose take it, by the way?"

"She was...surprised, but she handled it fine. She doesn't really trust you, but that will come."

"And do you?" I frowned.

"Do I what?"

"Trust me." I felt my cheeks get a little warmer.

"Yes, I do," I said quietly. " A question had been eating away at me since our night in detention—what exactly _were _Will and I? "You know, I really don't have a problem with telling the rest of my cousins...I mean...if we are...you know..a...um..."

"We are," he said quickly. "I mean...provided you want to be..."

"I do." I said, not quite trusting myself to say anything else.

"I'm just...afraid of what would happen if my father caught wind of it." It was quiet for a time as we gazed at the fire.

"What are you doing over the break?" I asked him, simply to break the silence.

"Dinners, ministry functions...boring stuff."

"Maybe I'll see you around...I mean, we only live a few miles away from you."

"I'd like that," he said. I sighed after checking the time.

"We should go soon." I muttered reluctantly.

"You know, for old time's sake, we could sleep here tonight." He joked. I snickered.

"Rose would murder me." He grinned.

"Well, in that case, I suppose we should go." Will hopped out of the chair and helped me up. We took our time walking back to the main staircase. Before we reached it, Will stopped me. I turned to face him.

"What?"

"We're under mistletoe." I looked up.

"No, we're n-" He pulled me closer to him.

"Details, details." My heart leaped in my chest. We got quite close before we were interrupted by a group of Hufflepuff first years coming around the bend. We jumped apart once again. I began to laugh, and Will joined in. We paused again when we reached the staircase.

"Well...'bye." I said.

"See you around?" He asked. I nodded. He turned on his heel and left. Disappointed, I headed back up to the Gryffindor common room, where Rose was sure to be triple-checking everything for the trip home.


	6. Levitating Fruitcakes and Other

**I still don't own 'em.**

**Chapter Six: Levitating Fruitcakes and Other Yuletide Joys**

"What about this one?" Rose asked, holding up a bright pink dress that reminded me of a cupcake.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked her. Rose, Lily, and I were spending quality time with our mothers gown shopping in London.

"Why not? I like it..." I looked at her dubiously.

"You'll look like a pastry."

"Well, I like pastries," she said, defensively. I shook my head as she threw the frilly disaster into the levitating basket that was following us around the shop. Lily was having similar issues finding a dress that fit her lean, muscular Seeker's figure. I abandoned Rose to help my younger cousin.

"I am _so _over this," Lily muttered to me. I tried to conceal a laugh. I pulled out a full-length forest-green dress.

"Try this one," I told her. She sighed.

"Whatever. The sooner I pick one, the sooner we can go somewhere else."

"Oh, the trials and tribulations of Lily Potter," I said dramatically. She stuck her tongue out at me. Our mothers were on the far side of the store, every once in a while they would suggest a dress, but mostly they just talked with one another. Lily stalked off to try on the green dress.

"Evey? Mum? What do you think?" Rose called to us. I cringed when I saw her wearing the pink monstrosity.

"I was wrong," I said, approaching her. "You don't look like a pastry...you look like a poodle." Aunt Hermione let out an involuntary snort of laughter at my comment.

"Honey, why don't you try on another one? It's very...busy, don't you think?" Rose disappeared back into the dressing room in a huff. The other mothers joined us.

When we emerged from the store and into Diagon Alley, both Lily, Rose and I sported large boxes holding our dresses. Rose had finally listened to reason and let go of the puffy pink dress.

"If you don't mind, girls," Aunt Ginny said, "I've got to stop by the shop for a few things."

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes stood in the center of Diagon Alley. The inside of the shop

looked rather like a diabolical toy store. The walls, shelves, and displays were jammed full of the thousands of things he and his late twin brother had invented. A large portrait of the original Fred Weasley hung behind the font counter. Beneath it, a brass plate was hung, engraved with the words,

Fred S. Weasley

1978-1998

We found my father demonstrating the uses of Headless Hats to a group of customers. He waved when he caught sight of us, and, after ending the demonstration, called us over.

"Here for the fruitcakes, were you?" He asked. Aunt Ginny nodded.

Each year, Uncle Harry sent a fruitcake to both his Aunt and Uncle and his cousin and his family. They were Muggles, and, naturally, mortally terrified of all things magical. The fruitcakes in question did any number of things—growl, dance, disappear and reappear at random—this year's hovered behind the receiver, waiting politely to be eaten.

After picking up the fruitcakes, we aparated back to Aunt Ginny's, heavily laden with our purchases.

"Merlin! Do we have money left for food?" Uncle Harry asked good-naturedly as we popped into the sitting room. He and Uncle Ron were sitting in the overstuffed armchairs, talking. Aunt Ginny kissed him on the cheek.

"Not much, but we'll make it somehow," she replied. "Lily, put on your dress to show your father." Lily sighed and disappeared up the stairs.

Later that evening, I put my entire ball outfit on. I had a simple black silk dress that flared out into a full skirt that fell just below my knees. My shoes and clutch were silver. I was wondering whether Will would be there, when there was a knock at my door.

"Yes?" My mother entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure." We sat on my bed. "What's up?" I asked her.

"Well, that necklace, for one...did you really buy it?" I sighed. The trouble with close-knit families is that you cannot have secrets.

"No." I said.

"Care to explain?" I really didn't, but it wasn't an actual question.

"It was a gift."

"A gift from whom?" I pressed my lips together.

"A friend," I answered lamely. Mum sighed.

"You know, you can tell me anything you want." I thought about how to word things.

"Mum...what if, when you were younger, you...went out with someone your mother wouldn't approve of?"

"What...kind of someone? Why wouldn't I approve?"

"This is hypothetical." Her eyebrows raised knowingly.

"Oh, right...well, why wouldn't I approve...hypothetically?"

"Well it doesn't have anything to do with him...it's _his _parents." My mother was extremely confused now.

"You mean...we—hypothetically—wouldn't approve...of his parents?" I nodded. "I don't see why they wouldn't...we're not prejudiced...I mean, they're not...can we drop this hypothetical thing?" I laughed.

"Yes, we can. But what if...you didn't like his parents?"

"Well...unless you're planning on getting married, I doubt we'd really have to deal with them much."

"Well, what if Fred didn't like him?"

"Fred would have to get over it. Honey, it's your life. Don't let anyone else live it, okay?"

"Okay." She kissed me on the forehead.

"Supper's in an hour." She left me to ponder what she'd said.

On Christmas Eve, Teddy came over. After Hogwarts, he began studying to be an Auror, like his parents had been. He currently resided in a flat in London, but visited us frequently. Dinner was quite an event that evening—it was our year to host. All through the meal, Teddy kept us entertained with stories of the trouble he caused around London with his friends. Grandma and Grandpa Weasley had aparated over early in the afternoon. Gran was determined to "help" my mother prepare supper, which had ended in Mum being shooed from the kitchen and Gran doing virtually everything. After the dishes had taken themselves into the kitchen, we sat around the tree popping Wizard Crackers and drinking cocoa. It was past ten when the others finally retired to their own homes, and Teddy made his way up to the spare bedroom.

A short time later, I lay on my bed, Will's present resting on my stomach. I stared at it for quite some time, before I heard the grandfather clock—a refurbished Muggle one that had been a wedding present to my parents from Grandpa Weasley—sound twelve times.

I sat up stalk-straight, as if I had been shocked, and delicately unwrapped the gift, being sure not to tear the paper. I pulled the lid off of a white box and revealed—a pewter compact mirror. I frowned in confusion. Was Will trying to tell me something here? Cautiously, I flipped open the compact. In the bottom part was a small note.

_E-_

_So we can talk outside of the secret study._

_-W_

Even more confused, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. As I watched, my reflection rippled and changed...until I was staring at Will's face.

"Evey?" The mirror asked.

"Will?" Will's reflection grinned.

"I thought you might cheat and open it at midnight." It dawned at me that this was a two-way mirror.

"And I suppose you did the noble thing and waited?"

"Well, not exactly," he said sheepishly, lifting up my unwrapped gift: the sketch of him I had done that day at the lake shore, finished in enchanted watercolors, so that he moved and talked.

"Ah. Well...do you like it? It was my first-ever attempt at water colors, and I was afraid that I wasn't doing the water justice, but I was-"

"_Evey."_

"Huh?"

"I love it." A smile somehow forced its way onto my lips.

"I...love yours, too."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." It was strange, talking to him through the mirror, without being able to feel him there.

"So," I began, "how's your break?" He rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Boring, cold, dull...several other adjectives come to mind, but I hate to say them out loud. How's yours?"

"Not bad, I guess. Mostly family stuff. We went shopping, decorated the tree, terrorized irate Muggles...the usual. Rose is planning on dragging me through several bookstores throughout Diagon Alley next week, but I'm sure I shouldn't be complaining...what's wrong?" His face had grown troubled. He seemed to hesitate before answering.

"Evey, will you promise me something?" I nodded slowly, uneasy at his tone. "Don't...go anywhere alone. I mean, without...a group of people you know...strong witches and wizards, like your parents."

"Why?" I demanded.

"It's just...there's...I don't know. Something's coming, and I don't want you to get caught off-guard. That's all." An unpleasant silence followed as I attempted to work out what he was trying to tell me. "Listen, let's talk about something else. What...do you think you're getting for Christmas?" I shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Evey, please?"

"What? You just told me I was in mortal peril, and now I'm supposed to make polite conversation?" He sighed.

"You're not in...I mean, I just...listen, I've...I've got to go." I tried not to let the hurt register on my face.

"Oh." I could barely hear myself.

"Just...promise me that you'll be safe, alright?" I nodded morosely. "Evey...I..." his head jerked up at a sound. He mouthed one last word: "Promise?"

"I promise." I whispered. His reflection melted into my own, and I saw the strange mixture of fright, confusion, anger, and sadness that was splashed across my face. Closing the compact, I placed it in my bedside table, then switched off my lamp and lay in the darkness without bothering to change.

"Evey! Wake up, it's-oh! You're awake! Come downstairs, then." Fred bounded back down the stairs. I had not slept. At six I had changed into fresh jeans and zipped a hooded sweatshirt over a Holyhead Harpies t-shirt. Every few minutes, I would remove the mirror from my nightstand, open it, and stare. After a few seconds, I would close it and replace it. Never once did I see anyone else's reflection but my own.

Fred burst into my room at seven, and I dutifully marched downstairs, where our presents sat under the tree. I tried to forget about the conversation the previous night, but it seemed to hover above me like a dark cloud. I did my best to put on a smile as I tore through the brightly wrapped paper, and no one seemed to notice anything lacking in my mood or my answering "Happy Christmas"es.

A half-hour later, a pile of assorted gifts was at my feet. A large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a mandatory Weasley Christmas Sweater, a book entitled _The Art of Magic: Wizard and Witch Paintings and Techniques Through the Ages_ (from Rose), an enormous box of Wizard Firecrackers, more magical watercolors, and a shrinking portable easel, among various other things. It wasn't long before Rose burst through the door and ushered me to her own house to show off her enormous stack of new books.

A while later, Lily, Fred, James and Hugo had disappeared outside to try out their new Quidditch gear. Albus was absorbed in a game of Wizard's Chess with his father, and Rose and I found ourselves in my room, feeding Roxie bits of leftover ham and talking.

"So," Rose said, trying to sound nonchalant, "Did...Will...get you anything?" I pursed my lips.

"Yes." I said, curtly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing...we just...I don't know." I sighed.

"You guys had a fight." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. "Um...how?"

"Two-way mirror. His present to me." I slumped over on the bed, the familiar morose feeling settling upon me again.

"You...you really like him, don't you?" Rose said. I only nodded. "Oh. What was it about? The fight, I mean. Um...you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Rose lowered her eyes.

"Of course I want to, Rosie. You're the only one I can really talk to, anyway. It wasn't really a fight, it's just that...I think he's hiding something." Her eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Why do you think that?"

"He...he told me to be careful, and not to go anywhere without an adult, like I'm in mortal danger or something, and then he wouldn't tell me why. And whenever I ask him about his...his past, or what happened our first night back, he just shuts down. It's so...aggravating. I don't know what to do."

"Do you think his parents found out? And they hold a grudge and they would...you know...send someone out to...?" She left the end of the sentence dangling. I almost laughed.

"The Malfoys are extremely proud and short-tempered—well, most of them are, at least—but I doubt they would resort to violence just because they didn't approve of their son's...friend." I still couldn't bring myself to add a prefix to the word 'friend.' It didn't seem real. "It must be something else. He seemed so...agitated, and that's unlike him. I don't know what's going on, Rose, but whatever it is, it's big, and I'm in danger, and I know _nothing _about it." Rose was out of theories, and a sense of—as silly as it seemed—impending doom had settled upon us.


	7. The Approach

**I don't own.**

**Chapter Seven: The Approach**

The rest of Christmas break passed, and soon we found ourselves at King's Cross Station once more. The prospect of seeing Will again stirred an odd combination of dread and elation in the pit of my stomach—we hadn't spoken since that night with the mirror. I was silent as we ducked through the passage to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, scanning the crowd. Each blond head set my blood ablaze, but all were false alarms. Then, I spotted him.

Despite the fire in my veins and the sudden, fierce urge to run, my eyes greedily drank in the sight of Will as he loading his trunk onto the train. Strangely, there was no sign of Lysander anywhere. He hopped off the train, nodded curtly to his father, and hugged his mother with one arm. As his mother straightened his collar, his eyes flitted from face to face, searching for someone. I realized who that someone was, just as he spotted me. His face resembled that of one who had just been struck by lightning...then...he grinned at me.

"Evey! What on earth are you staring at? Grab your trunk, come on!" Uncle Ron called. He helped me heave my trunk onto the train. With Roxie draped lazily over my shoulders, I hugged them all goodbye. Dragging my trunk to the compartment where my cousins were located, I discovered the cart full, Anderson Jordan having filled my place.

"Oh, Evey!" Fred exclaimed. "Andy here's just telling us about a Quidditch match he saw...do you mind if he sits here?" Rose jumped up.

"It's fine, Evey and I will go find Lydia and Alyssa..." she said, a twinge of regret in her voice. I suppressed a smile as she glanced shyly at Andy.

"Oh, no, Rose, I hate to drag you away from a good story. I wouldn't be very good company, anyway...I'll just sketch the whole way. You stay, I'll go find Lydia and Alyssa." Rose's eyes widened.

"Oh, thank-you, Evey! I mean...I hate to miss out on a good story..." Rose said quickly. Anderson seemed to notice her for the first time. I ducked out of the compartment and made my way up the narrow corridor, dragging my trunk behind me. The train gave a whistle as it lurched to a start, and I was pitched forward. Roxie yowled in dismay and hopped off of my shoulders, trotting snootily away.

"No, Rox! Come back!" But the cat was already several compartments ahead of me. I tried to keep up with her, weighed down by my trunk.

"Looking for something?" A familiar voice asked. Will stood before me, Roxie curled quite comfortably in his arms.

"Oh...um...I'm sorry, she's a little short-tempered and she...uh..." The corners of his mouth twitched upward.

"Were...you looking for a compartment?"

"Uh, yeah...I mean, my cousins' compartment was full, so-"

"You could...always sit in mine."

"I...really? Would your friends, you know..."

"I'm, uh, sitting alone. That is...their compartment was full, as well, so...what do you say?"

"I say...'yes.'" He led me to a compartment near the very end of the train. His green and silver trunk was already secured in an overhead rack. He helped me with mine. We sat facing one another, and Roxie abandoned Will for the comfort of my lap.

"So," I said nervously.

"So," he replied.

"Evey, I'm really, really sorry about what I said to you, I mean...you have every right to be upset with me, but you _have _tounderstand that I can't tell you anything right now...as much as I want to. But I promise you, I _will _tell you...I'll tell you everything. Anything and everything...as soon as I can. Do...do you...forgive me?" I studied his pleading face. Why did I trust him so much? What had he ever done to make me trust him? _Saved your life. _The voice in the back of my head answered.

"Of _course._" The pure relief on his face said it all. Pushing Roxie aside with a startled meow, I threw my arms around his neck. He stiffened for a moment, then returned the embrace, leaning his cheek against my hair. He pulled back and gave me that look, and I knew what was coming, and I more than half expected it when the snack trolley lady burst into our compartment.

"Anything off of the Trolley, dears?" I let out a laugh.

"We may be cursed." Will commented after she left.

"We probably are." I said.

"Evey..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I...ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think we could...go to the Winter Ball...together?" I looked up in surprise. "I know it's last minute and all, but if you didn't have a date, then we could go..."

"Will...like, as a...?"

"A couple, yes! Evey, I don't give a damn what they think anymore...so, will you?"

"Yes!" I felt a little dizzy. It was Thursday, the dance was in two weeks_. _I had been planning on flying solo with Rose, but the way she and Anderson had been gazing at one another, I doubted that that was going to happen. And, anyway, hadn't I wanted this all along?

"We...we're really going to do this? I mean, you're sure that your cousins and brother..."

"They'll get over it. What about you...your friends? What will they think?"

"If they don't like you, then they hardly have any business being my friend. And," his voice lowered, "they're just jealous, anyway." I blushed furiously. Will chuckled. "I haven't seen one of those in a while."

"Well, I haven't seen _you _in a while." The conversation slowly turned to school, then Christmas gifts, then we lost track of time, and, far too quickly, Hogwarts loomed in the distance, the sky sapphire-blue surrounding it.

"Will?" I said, finally remembering something. "Where's Lysander?"

"Who?" He frowned.

"Your...cat?"

"Oh! Him! I, uh, left him at the school. The...house elves usually take care of him. He, um...doesn't travel well."

"Oh." I said, confused at his broken explanation. Before I could ask him anything else, the Hogwarts Express shuddered to a stop.

"You'd, uh...better go." Will said, regretfully. I nodded, scooping up Roxie, I reached for the door of the compartment.

"Uh, Evey?" I turned. "See you tomorrow." I smiled at him before exiting the compartment, leaving my trunk to be transported magically up to my dormitory. I saw my cousins, ginger-haired in a sea of neutral colors, and they waved me over. Rose attacked me as I approached them.

"Guess what? Guess WHAT?" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Um...what?"

"Andy, he asked me to the Ball!" She squealed.

"Oh, Rosie! Awesome! Not that I didn't see it coming..." she raised one eyebrow, a talent I had never perfected.

"But...what about you?" I winked.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." She regarded me suspiciously, but said nothing. We gathered together, waiting for the next thestral-drawn carriage to arrive, when I heard someone call my name.

"Evey! Evey!" Fred sneered at something behind me.

"What do _you _want-" But Fred's insult was cut off when I turned to find myself kissing Will. It was rather forceful...but all the same, I had the strange sensation that there were spiders coursing through my veins, their legs sending shivers all over my body. He pulled back, letting his hands—which had been positioned on either side of my face—fall to his sides. His expression was one of wonder and shock. Both of us were breathing slightly heavier than normal.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO TO MY SISTER?" Fred's roar seemed to come from a few Quidditch-fields away. I payed no mind to him, instead placing my hands on either of Will's shoulders and kissing him back. One of his hands found the small of my back, the other rested on the side of my neck. We parted a few hours later...though I was later informed by Rose that those hours had only actually been seconds. When we parted, I recalled that the better half of my family had been witnesses to this. I turned rather cautiously to face them. All six were staring at us, slack-jawed. I came to the startling realization that almost everyone around us were staring slack-jawed, as well.

"Um...guys?" I began. No answer. "This is Scorpius Malfoy. Call him 'Will.'"

News travels quickly around Hogwarts...especially when said news was witnessed by nearly half of the school. Despite the high number of eye-witnesses, I heard several varying accounts, varying from Will attacking me, to me attacking Will, with at least one rumor that Will had proposed marriage. I was unsure why anyone cared who anyone else snogged, but I was suddenly on several Slytherin girls' hit-lists, and whispers never failed to follow me, wherever I went. I even witnessed several teachers stealing curious glances at me. Surprisingly, I found the whole thing rather amusing. If a Ravenclaw and a Griffindor could snog openly in the hallways, why couldn't a Slytherin and a Griffindor?

The worst part of the whole thing was Fred's reaction. He informed me that he had written Mum and Dad, and that he would be expecting a reply immediately. Other than that, he barely spoke to me. In fact, none of my cousins, except Rose, said much to me all through the next day. I quickly got fed up, and that night at dinner, I took my seat at the Gryffindor table, bound and determined to make amends with my brother.

"Hey." I said. My cousins responded, but Fred only nodded. "So, Fred, how do you, um, think the match is going to go next week?" He shrugged. "Do you...think we have a...a shot at the championship this year?" Another shrug. I grew quiet.

"Um...look at this," Rose said, pointing to the days' _Prophet,_ "It says there have been several dementor sightings in Scotland..." Fred mumbled something unintelligible. I decided to get straight to the point.

"Listen, Fred...about...what happened yesterday, if you would just hear me out...Will is the nicest, most sincere person I've ever met. If you would just get to know him, I'm sure you'd come to-"

"I will _not _get to know a Malfoy, Evey. How could you? Do you recall what his father did to our parents? I don't know how you could be such a...a _traitor!_" I gaped at him.

"_Fred_! Have you learned nothing from the war? We can't choose who we like and dislike based on...on who their parents were, or whether or not they have muggle in their blood, or what house they're in! If we are ever going to make any progress, we have to learn from the mistakes made in generations before us!" Fred said nothing, gazing at me expressionlessly.

"You know what? Never mind. How could I have possibly expected you to understand?"

"Evey, wait!" Rose called, but I was already halfway to the door. I nearly ran onto the grounds, finally finding myself at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Arty?" I called, stepping into the trees. "Artemis?" There was a rustling, and I turned to greet my Hippogriff friend. To my surprise, Firenze, a centaur with fine wrinkles on his face and silver streaks through his hair and tail, stepped out of the brush.

"You should not be here," he said.

"I...I was looking for Artemis...the young Hippogriff?" The centaur nodded.

"Yes, your bond. I'm afraid she is deeper into the forest. You see, Hippogriffs can sense when danger is coming. Your friend tried to convince the rest of the herd to stay, but she was outnumbered."

"Artemis is in danger?" My heart skipped a beat.

"No. At least, not directly. You, however, are. You should not be here."

"You said that already. What sort of danger?" The centaur regarded me with wise eyes.

"You sense it, too. You don't know it, but you do."

"Sense _what? _Stop speaking in riddles!" I was shocked at the forcefulness in my tone.

"Your emotions, they have been more difficult to control lately. You have been acting rashly, very out of character for you. You burn with rage, shiver from happiness. Am I correct?" I frowned.

"How could you have possibly...? You aren't answering my questions!"

"Perhaps you are not asking the right questions." I studied his face. He seemed genuine. What was the right question?

"Why...shouldn't I be here?"

"Because there is an evil at work, and you are caught in the midst of it."

"What sort of evil?"

"One that you could not imagine." I frowned.

"What do _I _have to do with it?"

"Little, but then you are a threat."

"...to the evil?" He nodded. "But...how can I be a threat? I'm not near the top of my class, it's not as if I'm anything special strength-wise...I'm not really a threat to anyone."

"You possess two types of power. Both are not clearly visible on the exterior, but both, when used correctly, are extremely powerful."

"What...types of power?"

"You are getting better at asking questions. The first is a sort of sense. You can feel the intentions and true natures behind other people. You can sense lies and true feelings. This power is unfocused, however. As it grows within you, you will begin to sense more and more. These emotions are powerful, and sometimes easy to confuse as your own. But, with a little focusing, you will never be deceived by another. You must be careful, though, not to deceive yourself."

"I can...read people's emotions?"

"Not exactly. You can sense them. It is a deep and powerful gift, a subtle one, but powerful."

"What...what's the second power?" The centaur smiled sagely.

"Ah. That I cannot tell you. It is something that you must discover yourself to use. But it is one of the deepest forces of all. And now, the time for questions has ended. You must get back to the school. You are safe there, for the time being. Fare-well, Evelyn."

"Wait! How did you know my name?" Firenze murmured the answer over his shoulder.

"You learn a great many things from living in the forest. Good-night." He disappeared through the brush once more.

"Evey?" I jumped. Turning, I saw Rose making her way across the lawn. I stepped out of the trees. "Evey! There you are! I was beginning to panic a little—what are you doing out here?" I shrugged.

"Thinking."

"Oh. Listen, about supper, I just wanted to say that...I agree. Completely. Why should the things our parents did and felt affect us?" I threw my arms around her.

"Thank-you, Rose."

"James, Albus, Lily and Hugo agree, too. We never really gave Mal—sorry again—Will a chance. We just assumed he was exactly like his father."

"I'm glad you guys understand...what about Fred?" She looked down.

"He...he definitely heard what you said. He left right after you did, and went to the dormitories. The others were going to go and see if they could talk some sense into him, but I told them to leave him be. He'll come around. He has to." I nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted and cold, realizing for the first time that I had stormed out of the castle without a cloak.

"Come on, let's go inside," Rose said, leading me back across the grounds. When we entered the common room, I suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Rose, did that reply from my mum and dad ever come?" She took an envelope from her inside coat pocket and handed it to me. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was a normal letter, rather than a howler. I opened it apprehensively. My mother's perfect script filled the page.

Evelyn,

We received your brother's letter in the mail this morning, and, let me start off by saying that I think it's wonderful that you have moved on after your disappointment earlier this year.

I will admit to quite a surprise after reading your brother's rather, shall we say, concerned letter, to realize that the new object of your affections is none other than the young Malfoy boy. Indeed, your father uttered some words that I hope he will never again use in the same sentence, or at all, for that matter.

However, after our initial shock, I recalled the conversation we had that day in your room, and I realize now that I should have figured this out right away. Please remember what I said, and know that it is still true. You must be the one to make the decisions in your own life. You can't let anyone else's opinions get in the way of that.

Your father and I trust you immensely. You have proven to us time and time again that you have a level head secured upon your shoulders, and we will support you with whatever decision you make. I know it must be difficult for you, with Fred acting like such a child. We will try to help him understand, but in the mean time, know that we love you, and so does Fred, although he may have strange ways of showing it. Send everyone there our love!

Love,

Mum and Dad

I smiled as I reread the letter, then passed it to Rose. At least I knew that my parents weren't angry with me. Now all that was left to worry about was Fred.


	8. The Winter Ball

**I don't own. Still.**

**Chapter Eight: The Winter Ball**

The next morning, the girls' dormitories were filled with anxious buzzing. Thankfully, the excitement of the ball had pushed Will and I off of the gossip charts—temporarily, of course—but any relief was welcome at this point. The day passed slowly, and soon it was five, and the ball began in two hours.

Rose, Lydia, Alyssa and I began the preparations for the evening. I was extremely grateful that Lydia and Alyssa had forgotten to ask about Will. We spent a dreadfully long time doing make-up and hair...but, when it was over, I hardly recognized my reflection. My dress was simple: black, with a full skirt that fell just below my knees. I put on my mask, being careful not to smudge the make-up that Lydia had applied, and slipped on my silver shoes.

Finally ready, we descended the staircase to the common room with me in my black dress, Alyssa in violet, Lydia in gold, and Rose in red. Most of the guys had already left for the ballroom, so we headed that way as well. As we stepped down the stairs, I saw a figure wearing black dress-robes break off from the crowd.

"Hello," I said to Will.

"Hello..." he replied. He was wearing a silver mask not unlike my own. He glanced at me shyly. "You look amazing, Evey." I was thankful for the mask—it hid my pink cheeks. We didn't say much else, but walked into the Great Hall. The room had transformed. Tables were decorated with golden cloths and intricate centerpieces, while a dance floor of gold-veined marble was set in the center of the room. To the far right was a spiraling staircase, draped with more golden cloth, that led to an outdoor balcony for fresh air. The enchanted ceiling showed large snowflakes spiraling from the heavens.

"Do you want to...dance?" Will asked me.

"I'm no good," I warned.

"Neither am I," he laughed, and led me onto the dance floor. The band—Puck's Pansies, an up-and-coming new group—was playing rather loudly. A tangled mess of other students were already dancing wildly, and we joined in, flailing our arms like those around us. Will was a bit standoffish, but he soon seemed to forget himself, and we danced through several songs before we emerged from the dance floor. I caught sight of Rose and Andy, sitting at a table, laughing together. I considered venturing over and saying hello, but decided against it after seeing the way that Rose was looking at him. Will followed my gaze and chuckled. We wandered around the hall, finally ending up at the snack table, where we scarfed down a few cream puffs and drank a cup of punch.

"So," He said, "how have you been?" I shrugged. "Your...family?" He guessed. I nodded. "I saw the way you stormed out of supper yesterday...Evey, I'm sorry. I mean, I shouldn't have done that...like that, I mean..." I shook my head.

"Please, don't apologize for that." I winked at him.

"But I caused trouble between you and your cousins, and I feel awful about it."

"It's not my cousins, it's my brother. And _you _didn't cause it..._we _did. If you recall correctly, I kissed you back." I heard him chuckle.

"How could I forget?" he said, and I felt an arm snake around my waist. I leaned against him, and we walked towards a table.

"Did your...parents catch wind of this particular fiasco?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I'm sure they're bound to. Did yours?" I nodded. "And...?"

"Well...they were surprised, but fine with it. They're fairly lax, as far as parents go. It's my brother that's the real thing to worry about, at this point."

"Oh." We headed back toward the dance floor, his arm still around my waist. I have to admit, I was enjoying the public display of affection portion of this predicament. Forget what Fred thought, this was...nice. More than nice. The evening continued in a sort of pattern. Dance, punch, dance, punch. Our cycle was only broken when the band struck up a slow song.

"I...um...don't do so well with slow songs," Will murmured. I laughed.

"Well, let's go get more punch." I was only a little disappointed, and I quickly got over it.

"Evey!" Rose caught up to me.

"Hey, Rosie! Where's Andy?" She grinned.

"He went to get drinks...oh I've had the _best _night!" She seemed to notice Will for the first time.

"Oh-how have you two been?"

"Great!" I said, glancing again at Will. He nodded.

"Um..._Will_..." Rose began. "I just wanted...to say, that...well, anyone who's Evey's friend is my friend, too." She smiled nervously, and Will returned it.

"Thank-you," he said quietly. "Uh...I'll go get us punch. Be right back."

"You know, he is sort of cute..." She said to me, eyes alight. I laughed.

"Rosie, what would I do without you?" I said fondly. Just then, Andy joined us.

"Hey, Rose!" He said, then spotted me. "Oh, hello, Evey. You here with...uh..."

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Oh. Well, great, then." He cleared his throat. "Uh...do you mind if I steal Rose again? For a dance?"

"Of course," I said, smiling after them as they headed to the dance floor. Will returned. "Hey," I greeted, "where's the punch?" He smiled beneath his mask.

"Let's dance." He said.

"But I thought you said you didn't-" I broke off as he pulled me closer, one hand grasping mine, the other on my waist. With no breath, or desire, left to argue, I followed him. He led me out on the dance floor, and proceeded to lead me through a winding maze of intricate steps. People began to watch us, or rather, him, as he whipped me across the floor.

"Will, you said you didn't dance..." I was shocked, but a large grin had taken over my face. He only smiled again. When the dance ended, He took hold of my hand and led me up the winding staircase to the balcony.

The air was cold, but welcome after the warm room below. Several couples were already there, most of them entwined together amorously. Will led me over to a corner, and I gazed at the sky above. The snow had stopped, and the stars were visible.

"It's a beautiful night," I murmured to him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and turned me to him. I looked into his eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked him. His arm felt strange against my back, as if he didn't want to keep it there.

"Nothing." He whispered to me, but something in the back of my mind disagreed. He pulled me closer, until his mouth was next to my ear. "Goodbye, Miss Weasley." He murmured melodically. My heart pounded.

"Wh-what?" I slipped my hand down to the side of my dress, where the thin pocket containing my wand was.

"I'm going to throw you over the edge of this balcony, and you are going to plummet to the ground, several stories below, and die." His tone was still soft. My fumbling hand finally managed to free my wand. I pointed it at him, but my voice caught in my throat.

"Stu..st...stupi-"  
"_Silencio," _He murmured, and I looked down to see his own wand, jabbed between my ribs. I swallowed, my heart was racing. I looked around frantically, but no one payed any mind. Will clucked his tongue at me. "Now, now. Be obedient. _Imperio._" My body was not my own. I couldn't force myself to blink...I was paralyzed, but standing. "Now," the being that looked like Will chuckled. "I want you to walk over to that railing over there, and throw yourself off of it. You are not to make a sound, not that you really could, anyway. Nod to me if you agree. My senses screamed at me to resist, to tear away and run, but I felt my head bob calmly up and down. I could not fight the order, I had to obey. My head screamed, my body was numb. I moved slowly to the railing, willing myself to go as slowly as possible. The railing was cool as I swung one foot over it, then the other. I stood on the ledge outside the railing, clutching to it and staring onto the balcony.

To my shock, two people burst onto the balcony.

"STUPEFY!" I heard one yell. The other caught sight of me, and raced to the ledge. In the moonlight, I saw Will's face frozen in panic.

"Evey, Evey what are you doing?" I couldn't speak. My left hand released its grip on the railing, and I dangled by one arm, my body below me. "Evey, stop! STOP!" I heard his command, why wasn't I obeying? Will grabbed my left hand, trying to pull me up. Fred rushed over to me, looking at my glazed-over eyes in terror.

"Evey! What is it? What's wrong?" My right hand let go as well, and now I dangled by the arm in Will's grasp. Fred grasped at me, too, and they began to pull me onto the balcony. My body thrashed about as I fought their grips.

"SHE'S BEEN IMPERIUSED! SOMEONE HELP! HELP US!" Will screamed. I saw the tears on his face glint silver in the moonlight. I felt his grip on my arm loosen, I slipped farther down, thrashing harder, and then I was tumbling into blackness. The shouts from the balcony grew further and further away as I plummeted downward. I hit something hard, and all was black.


	9. Revelations

**J.K. Rowling owns these characters, and I am not she. **

**Chapter Nine: Revelations**

The next thing I recall is a dull ache in my side, then in my shoulder, then in my head. I cracked my eyes, and, nearly blinded by the bright light, squeezed them shut again. I lead out a groan.

"Is she waking?" I heard a familiar voice ask anxiously.

"Mum?" I choked out.

"Yes! Evey, honey, I'm here!" I felt her cool hand on my arm.

"Evelyn, dear, can you open your eyes?" the voice of the school nurse, Madam Heathcliff, who had taken over after Madam Pomfrey's retirement five years ago.

"No...turn out the lights..."

"Okay, dear. Try again." I opened my eyes carefully. The lights were dimmer, and I made out shapes, then figures, then the anxious faces of Mum and Madam Heathcliff. Mine was the only bed occupied.

"Oh, Evey, I was so worried...I thought you were..."

"Mrs. Weasley, if you don't mind." Madam Heathcliff murmured.

"Yes, yes, of course." My mother moved a few feet away, allowing the nurse to examine me.

"Where does it hurt, dear?" I swallowed.

"My...head." I forced out. "My left side...shoulder..." She ran her hands over my side. I winced in pain.

"I'm afraid you have a concussion, two broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder." My mother made a strange croaking noise. She bustled away, and my mother came over and smoothed my hair.

"Alright," Madam Heathcliff said upon returning. She waved her wand over my side, murmuring a word I couldn't make out. A burning sensation flooded my ribs, then numbness. "Ribs better?" she asked. I nodded once. "Good. Now, Mrs. Weasley...if you would hold her down, there."

"What are you going to do?" My mother asked as she obeyed.

"Her shoulder needs to be set. There's only one way to do it...brace yourself, Miss Weasley, this will hurt for a moment." I did brace myself as she pulled sharply on my left arm, but I could not prepare for the searing pain that shot through my shoulder. I cried out, and through the pain I heard the nurse murmur the incantation once more, and my shoulder was numb, too. I was breathing heavily.

"Oh..." my mother said in a whisper. The door of the Hospital Wing burst open. Will and my father stood in the doorway.

"What happened?" Dad thundered. "Why is she screaming?" Will's eyes were wide.

"I had to pull her joint back into place. She's fine, now. Well, just about." I watched her pour two vials into a cup, and handed them to me. "Drink." I obeyed. "You'll want to let her sleep, now." Madam Heathcliff said gently. My mother nodded, bending in to kiss me on the forehead.

"We'll be here when you wake up," she promised. I nodded. My father only patted my arm, at a loss for words.

"Evey, I'm so sorry..." Will murmured.

"Don't...worry about me..." I said. They may have answered, but I was already unconscious.

I woke again some immeasurable time later. I heard voices, so I kept my eyes closed and listened.

"Please...just give me a while alone with her..."

"I suppose," the voice of Madam Heathcliff said reluctantly. "But if she wakes again, fetch me immediately. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." I heard the door open and close. Footsteps approached my bed. I felt a hand on my cheek.

"Evey...it's my fault you're here..." I opened my eyes and peered curiously up at Will. He jerked his hand back. "You're awake!" He exclaimed. He threw a glance over his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Evey...I should have stayed with you, I should have been more careful...I didn't think they would try anything with that many people around, but...but..." He closed his eyes. I reached for his hand, still resting on the bed, and he clutched mine tightly.

"What are you talking about...what happened?" He opened his eyes.

"Don't you remember?" I frowned, and, suddenly, it all flooded back to me.

"I...you...you took me up the stairs, to the balcony. You...put me under...under the Imperius curse, you told me to...jump off the balcony..." I let out a strangled noise.

"It wasn't me, Evey! It was...Polyjuice Potion..." I held up my hand.

"No. I knew it wasn't you, I...I could _feel_ it, like the centaur said." Will started to interrupt, but I shook my head. "I'll explain later. Then you, the real you, showed up with Fred...you stopped him...you...but then you tried to stop me from...from...the balcony. And I tried...oh, Will, I tried to stop, but I couldn't!" Tears streamed down my face.

"Shh," Will murmured. He knelt beside the bed and wrapped his arms around me as best he could, burying his face in my neck. I clung to him, and we stayed that way for...moments? Hours? Before I spoke again.

"Will?"

"Hmm?" He sat up to look at me.

"What happened...after that?" He pulled up a chair and sat in it, entwining his fingers in mine.

"You...fell. I watched you...your eyes were so...strange. I thought you were dead." He took a shuddering breath before he continued. "Then, that hippogriff..._your _hippogriff flew up out of nowhere. She caught you on her back. You landed on your left side, and you...sort of slumped over. She carried you down to the grounds—how she kept you balanced, I don't know—by the time you reached the ground, a crowd, myself included, had gathered there. It was Professor Hagrid that picked you up and carried you here. That hippogriff tried to follow him, though. She couldn't fit through the front door. Your parents arrived about an hour later, after things had been sorted out."

"Who was he? The man with the...the Polyjuice potion?" Will lowered his eyes.

"No one knows."

"But you do," I probed, surprised at how certain I was.

"Yes, I do." The door opened, and Rose entered the room.

"Evey! You're awake!" She practically sprinted to my side.

"What happened? Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

"Rosie, slow down. I'm fine."

"I heard you were attacked on the balcony, and that the intruder was unknown...but they aren't telling us _anything. _I came to see you yesterday, but you were still asleep, and Madam Heathcliff told me to go-"

"Yesterday? But...isn't it Saturday?"

"It's Sunday, Evey. You slept all day yesterday." Will said. I blinked in surprise.

"Were...were you hurt?" Rose asked. Will said nothing, but leaned in, curious.

"A couple of broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a concussion." I informed them.

"Oh...did it...hurt?"

"Madam Heathcliff healed the bones easily...but the shoulder had to be put back in place..." I shuddered at the memory of the pain. Rose's nostrils flared.

"Who could have done this to you?" She said, her voice raw.

"I don't know." I said quietly. Just then, Madam Heathcliff reentered the room.

"Miss Weasley, you're awake! Mr. Malfoy, I told you to fetch me if she woke!" She said angrily.

"She only just woke up, Madam," said Rose.

"Very well. Either way, you two need to leave. Headmistress Lioda wants to speak with you, Miss Weasley." I nodded.

"Bye, Evey! I'll come back soon!" Rose said as she reluctantly exited the Hospital Wing. Madam Heathcliff tapped on an empty portrait on the wall. A plump witch appeared in the painting.

"You rang?" The witch said lazily.

"Inform the headmistress that Miss Weasley is awake." The witch left, huffing about being treated as an owl. Will stepped back up to my side.

"As soon as you're out, come and find me. I've got a lot to explain," he murmured to me. He threw a glance toward Madam Heathcliff, whose back was turned. He bent and pressed his lips to mine.

"Ahem." Will straightened up and saw Professor Lioda standing in the doorway. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe you should go." Will headed hastily to the door, with a final backwards glance toward me.

"Sorry, Professor," I heard him mumble as he passed her. I could have sworn I saw the corners of Professor Lioda's mouth turn up in a small smile as he left, but when I looked back, it was a harsh line once more. Professor Lioda had once been the Arithmancy teacher. She was in her late thirties, with blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and large hazel eyes. She was stern, like her predecessor Professor McGonagall, but she also had a startlingly wide smile that appeared only rarely.

"If you would excuse us, Elvira, I would like to speak with Miss Weasley privately." Madam Heathcliff nodded, disappointed, and took her leave. Professor Lioda took a seat in the chair beside the bed. "Miss Weasley, I know you have had a rough couple of days, so I will ask straight out: what happened the night of the Winter Ball?" I bit my lip, suddenly shy. I had never had a one-on-one conversation with the headmistress before—it was rather daunting.

"Where...where should I start, professor?" She inclined her head.

"Well, judging by the display I experienced a moment ago, you attended the ball with Mr. Malfoy, am I correct?" I nodded, blushing. "Then, what did you do when you first arrived in the Great Hall?"

"We...danced, ate, talked with friends...and then we danced some more."

"How did you come to be on the balcony?" I pressed my lips together.

"W—Scorpius—and I danced. He led me up the stairs and to the balcony. He pulled me into a corner, and he...he was acting strange..."

"How so?"

"He...said 'Goodbye, Miss Weasley.' I asked him what he meant, and he told me..." My throat closed up. Embarrassed, I plowed on. "He told me that he was going to throw me...off of the balcony. I pulled out my wand, but I...couldn't get the spell out. He put a silencing charm on me, then he put the Imperius curse on me." I shuddered.

"What did he command you to do?"

"He...told me to...to throw myself off the balcony." She nodded.

"Then what happened?"

"My brother, Fred, and...and another Scorpius burst onto the balcony. One stunned the...the one I was with, and then Scorpius...came over to me. He tried to stop me, b-but I couldn't stop...Fred tried to help him, but I slipped out of their grip. I hit something hard, and everything went dark." Professor Lioda was silent for a long while.

"Professor?" I asked. She didn't reply, but looked at me. "Do you know who he was...the person who...tried to..." I couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

"His name is Archibald Sachworth. We couldn't get much else out of him. His memory of what organization he was in has been erased. He has been sent to Azkaban for further questioning."

"Oh." I said, not sure what else to say. I suddenly felt frightened and alone. Who was after me, and why?

"Miss Weasley, I'm afraid I have some things to look into. Good afternoon." She rose again and left. It was only then that I realized how terrified I was of being alone. I took deep breaths, looking wildly into the shadows. The door opened again, and it was the most magnificent sound I had ever heard. Madam Heathcliff entered, followed by my mother and father.

"Oh, Evey!" Mum rushed over to me and threw her arms around my neck. I relaxed.

"How are you?" My father asked. "Are you feeling any better?" I nodded.

"I feel fine. Great, actually. I'm good as new." My father beamed at me. He looked tired.

"That's my girl." He collapsed into the chair. My mother sat at the foot of my bed.

"Are you hungry?" I shook my head. "Thirsty?

"I'm fine, Mum. Really." She looked at me worriedly, then glanced at my father.

"I think you should come home with us for a while...just to rest." I frowned.

"What? Mum..."

"I told you she wouldn't want to go..." my father said wearily.

"Why not? Evelyn Weasley, you were just attacked! You almost _died._ How can you expect us to leave you here knowing it's not safe-"

"But it _is_ safe! I mean, now that everyone is on their guard, this is the safest place I could be! It was my fault I almost died, Mum..._I _was out on the balcony, _I _couldn't get a spell out fast enough...I couldn't even scream for help! I need to be _here, _Mum." I was surprised to feel my eyes welling with tears. My mother opened her mouth to argue, but Dad stepped in.

"She's right."

"I-_what?_" Mum wheeled on him furiously.

"She's right, Rachael. It's her decision. Besides, the is Hogwarts we're talking about. She's surrounded by some of the best witches and wizards in the world."

"That didn't stop her from being attacked once."

It took nearly an entire day, but my father finally convinced my mother to let me stay at Hogwarts. They left the next day, with the assurance from Madam Heathcliff that I would be fine. I was released from the Hospital Wing on Tuesday. Rose dutifully brought me my missed assignments, which, thankfully, was easy enough to finish in a couple of hours. As I entered our dormitory for the first time in nearly four days, I took in the comfort of the familiarity. Rose entered the room, fresh from the library, balancing a large stack of books. I petted Roxie, who wound her tail around my hand happily.

"Good to be free, Evey?" Rose asked absentmindedly, her nose already buried in a book.

"You have no idea," I replied. A familiar tapping sound came from the window. Lysander balanced outside the window.

"Well. He's punctual," Rose remarked, peeking her head over the book to look at the cat. Lysander's note asked to meet earlier than usual. I left the dorm immediately, in order to take the back corridors. I was not in the mood to deal with whispers following me as I passed. Will was already in the secret study when I arrived.

"Evey!" He jumped up. "It's good to see you!" I laughed.

"You saw me this morning."

"No, I meant...it's good to see you on your feet."

"It's good to be on my feet." I admitted. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the chair.

"I...have a lot to tell you." I nodded. The untold truth hung like something tangible between us. He hesitated. I reached for his hand.

"What's wrong?" He took a deep breath.

"I'm just afraid that, after I tell you all of this...you'll hate me." I looked at him.

"You know that's not true. I could never hate you. I know that seems silly to say—we've only really known each other for four months—but..."

"I know." He shifted closer to me. "But then, you don't know what I'm going to tell you. Before I begin, I just want you to know that...that everything I'm about to tell you, all the things that I've done...know that when you came along, everything changed for me."

"Will, you can tell me anything." He sighed.

"I hope that's true." He took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair, and began. "You know, of course, about Death Eaters. The Dark Lord's followers during the war. These people had direct contact with the dark lord, and did his bidding. However, long, long ago, before the dark lord had risen to power, another order was established. They called themselves the Death Keepers. The Death Keepers, unlike the Death Eaters, were sworn to a loyalty of a different sort—loyalty in secret. They did not take part in dark deeds, they did not side with the Death Eaters—they did nothing. They were sworn to sit back and watch the battle from the sidelines. They were to keep completely silent, unless, the seven horcruxes were all destroyed, and the Dark Lord fell. Then, and only then, would they act." Will watched my face closely throughout this. I kept my face expressionless.

"What were they supposed to do?" I prompted.

"Well...you've heard of the horcruxes?" I nodded. "And you know how they were made?"

"Yes."

"Creating horcruxes is the only well-known and proven way of preserving the soul beyond death. However, there are other, archaic texts that tell of another way. The act of binding a part of one's soul with another's. But, in order to perform this bond, the subject must be all but sacrificed. A human sacrifice was out of the question."

"Why?" I asked, then cursed myself for interrupting.

"Because, a human would leave too many things to chance. The agony it takes, to have someone's soul bound to your own is...beyond excruciating. You've heard of a Dementor's Kiss? The removal of the soul is agonizing in itself, but when it's done, the pain is gone. The hole left behind is irreparable, but there is no longing for it to be restored. But to bind the soul, only half of it is removed. Therefore, the remaining half recalls the feeling of a whole soul, and longs for it. This longing is so intense that it is a greater agony than any can imagine. A human being in this shape would be driven mad, perhaps breaking free and blowing the cover of the operation. An animal, however, may be concealed. So, because the Dark Lord was a Parselmouth, he performed the ritual on a small garden snake. It was successful."

"But," I murmured, "What does any of this have to do with you? Or me?" It seemed that this was the question he had been dreading.

"I...well...alright. I swore I would tell you everything. Please...try to understand. In order for the Dark Lord to use the bonded soul to return, he needed another sacrifice—a human one, this time—to use as his own body. As you can imagine, there was any number of people that would have done this in a heartbeat, but...the ritual required to take the soul into one's own body...would require another Parselmouth. They had to wait for a child to be born with the ability...an heir, of sorts. Every child that was born to a Death Eater or Death Keeper was tested...none had the ability. Until one, sixteen years ago." My blood felt like ice.

"Oh, Will...y-you?" He only nodded. I felt tears welling in my eyes.

"I...once they discovered that I had the gift, I was...raised to become...the next. The Heir, they called me. I grew up knowing that, the moment I finished school, I would...cease to exist. I'd be replaced by...him. Knowing this, I never let myself get too close to...anyone. No close friends, never any...you know, girlfriends...until you. It's like they said...but not how they thought..."

"Wait...who said?" I asked in nearly a whisper. He looked at me strangely.

"Well...last summer, a prophecy was made. It was filed in the "Unknown" section of the Department of Mysteries, because no one but a Death Keeper could know quite what it meant. Conveniently, there was a Death Keeper employed in the Department of Mysteries. It said,

_'Death Keepers that cower in shadow, beware_

_A threat to your dark deeds is rising_

_Daughter of the trickster, wielding the tool_

_To silence forever the Heir.'_

"They puzzled over the riddle for months...before someone connected the "trickster" to your father. They found out that he had a daughter—in my own grade, no less—and decided not to chance letting you live."

"My dream..." I murmured.

"Yes. Of course, they didn't tell me their plans. When I happened along, seeing you thrashing about in the lake, I saved you. Then, I gave you that necklace," he motioned to my neck at the silver snake, which I had not taken off since he had given it to me. "My grandmother gave me that. It's got a protective spell over it...wards off evil dreams. They weren't very happy about that...they explained things to me over Christmas Break, so I wouldn't interfere the next time. Of course, by then, the damage was done. That was why I warned you Christmas Eve. When we came back to the school, I decided I needed to be close to you at all times...but that didn't go as well as I had planned. I didn't think they would try something with all those people around. I went to get punch, and he came up to me disguised as Professor Lioda. He asked me to follow him, and I did, of course...I didn't know that Professor Lioda was in her office at the time. He got me into a deserted corridor before I realized something was amiss...and by then it was too late. He stunned me, and stuffed me in a broom closet. He didn't know that your brother was following, hoping to get some dirt on me. He hid. It only took him a few minutes to revive me, but by the time we got into the Great Hall and up to the balcony, you were already..." he swallowed. Several emotions coursed through me at once.

"Will?"

"Yes?"

"If you had known about their plans...would you have saved me?"

"I ask myself that every day. The truth is, I don't know. How could I? But, Evey, I have never regretted saving you for any fraction of any second." I mulled over this for a few moments.

"What...what are you going to do, now that you...you've saved me again?" He didn't answer for a few minutes.

"I...I...I'm not sure. I've always done what's expected of me. Now...after meeting you, I've done a lot of thinking. How many innocent lives would be lost, if he were to rise again? People like you and Rose, all just...gone. I don't think...no, I _know_...that I could never be a part of that. It has to be stopped." It was quiet for a very long time, the air heavy with thoughts. Finally, I spoke.

"What do we do to stop it?" He turned to me.

"We?"

"Like I'm going to let you do this on your own." Without any warning, he pulled me into a kiss. When we parted, he pressed his forehead to mine.

"You said something about a centaur, earlier..." I told him about my encounter with Firenze.

"That would explain...why you trusted me so easily," he remarked.

"I would have done that without any extra powers," I declared. He pulled me closer, and I curled up next to him, just as I had done that cold September evening that seemed so long ago.


	10. A Pinprick of Light

**I totally own all of these characters. Psych. **

**Chapter Ten: A Pinprick of Light**

It was surprisingly easy to fall back into my old daily routine. Of course, it wasn't really the same...there was always that constant, nagging fear of another attack at the back of my mind. Although I knew that the school was on high-alert, I was easily startled and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Despite my uneasiness, nothing had happened.

On top of all of those worries, there was Rose. Countless times, she would begin to ask me something, then think better of it and change the subject. I knew she was full to bursting with questions about what I had learned, and the fact that she restrained herself made me feel even guiltier from keeping the truth from her. There was a part of me—quite a large part—that wanted to tell Rosie everything, to confide in my best friend. But just as I would open my mouth to tell her, my conscious reminded me that it was not my secret to tell. Thus, unspoken things hung in the air between Rose and me.

One Saturday afternoon, three weeks after the attack, I woke to find my dormitory empty. I swung my legs off of my bed, thinking I had overslept, but when I glanced at the clock, it only read eight thirty. I got ready quickly, then descended the stairs. The common room was nearly empty as well. Where were all of my cousins? They had to be somewhere on the grounds—the Hogsmede weekends had been postponed indefinitely since the attack. I shrugged on my coat and pushed the thoughts from my mind There was something I had to do, anyway. I slipped quietly out of the common room, down the main staircase and out the front door. Skirting the grounds as quickly as I could, I made it to the shelter of the outer fringe of the forest without being noticed. Artemis bounded over to meet me. I scratched her large forehead, wondering what to do next.

"Hello," said a voice from behind me. I jumped, whirling around. Firenze stepped from the brambles, his graying eyebrows raised.

"Oh...hello. You scared me." Truth be told, I had gone into the forest with the intent of talking to the centaur.

"You were looking for me." It was not a question.

"Yes. I...I have a question." The centaur looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"You always do." I gave a half-smile.

"Yeah...I guess I do." There was a pause.

"You are not going to ask the question?"

"Uh...right. You...you seem to know a lot about...my abilities. I mean, far more than I do..."

"Yes."

"And I was sort of wondering if...maybe, you could tell me more about...things. I mean, sort of...show me how to use this, uh...power." He raised his eyebrows.

"Teach you?" I nodded, a bit embarrassed for some reason.

"Only if you want to, I mean, don't feel obligated or anything..."

"Oh, I never feel obligated to do anything. But your request is...an interesting one."

"I just feel like...like something is going to happen, and that I need to be prepared for it, whatever it is. I need to learn what I can do." There was another pause. I studied my nailbeds with great interest.

"You are correct, of course. Something approaches." He blinked twice. "I will help you. As much as I can, which, granted, may be very little, but I will help you. Be here tomorrow night at dusk." And with that, he turned and was gone with barely a sound. I bit my lip. Speaking with the centaur unnerved me—perhaps it was the fact that he was so wise. I maneuvered myself through the trees and made my way across the grounds and to the Great Hall. I was just about to open the door, when Will came flying out, colliding with me.

"Sorry!" he cried as we toppled over onto the floor. "Then again, maybe not..." he murmured, his face centimeters from mine. He kissed me lightly.

"Where were you going in such a hurry?" I asked him as he helped me up. He shrugged.

"To find you." I frowned.

"You haven't happened to see any of my family, have you?" I was getting a little worried—I never went this long without at least seeing Rose.

"In my life or this morning?" I rolled my eyes.

"Will!"

"Sorry. You set yourself up for these things, you know? No, I haven't seen any of your family." I frowned.

"Me either." He shrugged again.

"Maybe they're out on the Quidditch field. Have you written that Herbology essay yet?" He asked. I shook my head sheepishly. "Good, neither have I. Do you want to go start them in the library?"

"Well, alright, but-"

"I have donuts." He said, patting the bag slung on his back. Oh, how he tempted...

"Oh, okay, let's go." I summoned my Herbology book, some parchment, and a quill through a mouthful of cruller.

And so I began my essay on the many delightful uses of Fire Snips—a strange, yellowish root resembling a common parsnip, with the exception of their tendency to burst into flame. We worked quietly for a while, but it was harder to do homework with Will than I had anticipated, mainly because I was doing homework with _Will. _Soon, after being scolded about nine times, we decided it would be in everyone's best interest to exit the library and to cram our essays in sometime later.

We meandered the halls aimlessly, our fingers loosely entwined. The gossip had peaked and finally, _finally, _died down in the past couple weeks. We were getting fewer and fewer odd looks when we walked the hallways together, which was refreshing, to say the least. I told him about my lesson with Firenze, and he seemed to think it was a good idea.

"The only thing is...I don't think you should be out alone so late..."

"Oh, what are you, my father? Besides, I won't be alone...Arty will surely be close by, and I'll be with Firenze." He didn't reply. "So," I said lightly, "What's on the agenda for the day?" He seemed glad for the subject change.

"Not much of anything, really. What about you? Anything exciting that you know of happening today?" I shook my head. My mind drifted through my many worries as we wandered on. How was this going to play out? What would end up happening to Will?

"Something wrong?" Will asked after a while. I snapped out of my thoughts.

"No...I'm bored, that's all," I complained.

"Me, too," Will seemed to have a realization. "I know something we can do!"

"What?" He grinned mischievously.

"I won't tell. Follow me!" He snatched my hand and led me down a few corridors, taking long strides. I nearly had to run to keep up with him.

"Will! Where are we going?"

"You'll see..." he laughed, and I couldn't help but join in as we raced down yet another hallway. I finally got my bearings as we skidded to a stop in front of a large oak door. I glanced around.

"We're here!" Will announced. He glanced up and down the hallway.

"Will, what are we doing at the Room of Require-mph" My question was stifled as he pressed his mouth to mine. My breath caught, and I closed my eyes. It was one of those moments that you wish you could freeze, because you know that soon, far too soon, it will end. Like a tiny pinprick of light in the middle of a very dark place—you wish you could hold onto it forever, because without it, you will be plunged into total blackness. Will pulled away, still grinning.

"Wow." He murmured. I felt a grin spread across my face.

"Wow," I agreed. We regarded each other curiously for a moment, then he seemed to snap out of a trance.

"Now," he said, opening the door. "Ladies first."

"Will, it's dark in he-"

"SURPRISE!" The lights flickered on, revealing—nearly everyone I knew. The Room of Requirement had been transformed to house an enormous party.

"Happy birthday, Evey!" Rose exclaimed, as Will came up behind me.

"But, my birthday isn't until the eighth!" I protested. Rose frowned.

"It _is _the eighth, Evey!" I shook my head in bewilderment. In all the turmoil of the past few weeks, I had completely forgotten about my own birthday. I looked around me. The Room of Requirement had been decorated with red and gold ribbons, and a large cake with color-changing frosting was the centerpiece of a long table. Platters of sandwiches and bowls of punch sat on either side of it. Another smaller table was off to the left, laden with gifts.

"Rose, I...I don't know what to say! Thank you!" I threw my arms around her.

"Don't thank me...it was all Will's idea." She said sheepishly. I turned to him in bewilderment.

"You...how? Were you distracting me this whole time?" He smiled.

"Did it work?" I pulled him down to my level and kissed him before I remembered who was watching. I froze, and I felt Will tense as well.

"Hey! Let off, will you?" I heard Fred call. I ducked my head, laughing.

"Sorry." I said, the familiar warmth spreading over my cheeks. "Will, where did you get all this food? And this cake, it's enormous!"

"Well, I owe a big part of this to Landzy," Will replied. I searched the crowd to find the little house elf.

"Landzy, you?!" The little elf bowed happily.

"Landzy has pleased Miss Evelyn?"

"Yes, very much! Thank you!"

"It was nothing, Miss Evelyn. Landzy's father would have wanted it. Mother said he was very fond of the Weasley family."

"Who was your father, Landzy?" I asked him.

"His name was Dobby, Miss Evelyn." Landzy declared.

"Dobby was your father?" Asked James. Landzy nodded vigorously. James shook the little elf's hand. They dissolved into the crowd, and I began to mingle with the guests. I hadn't had a birthday party in years. It dawned on me that I was seventeen...I was officially of age. The next few hours were a whirlwind of cake and gifts...books, sweets, quills, and various other small things piled up around me.

Eventually, everyone began to slowly filter out of the Room of Requirement. Landzy had disappeared with the empty cake and platters, despite all of the protesting and offers to help him. Finally, my cousins, Fred, Will, and I were the only ones left. Gathering up my things, I headed to the door.

"Evey?" Will said softly from behind me.

"Rose, go ahead, I'll be there in a few!" I called to Rose. She nodded and disappeared through the door, leaving Will and I alone.

"So? Were you surprised?" He asked, taking my hand in his. I set the bag of gifts down and let him pull me closer.

"Yes, I was. How did you find the time to do this all? The party, everything, it was so...amazing. I don't even think I even told you when my birthday is-"

"You didn't, I had to ask Rose."

"Oh." My face fell.

"What's wrong?"

"I...it's just, I don't know when your birthday is! It probably just passed by without me knowing! I'm so unthoughtful and scatterbrained, I just-"

"But you _did_ give me something for my birthday," He said, grinning.

"What do you mean?"

"That first day back from Christmas holiday? That was my birthday."

"I still don't see-"

"You kissed me back, after I kissed you," he blurted. His face turned pink.

"...are you _blushing?" _I asked him. "Oh, how the tables have turned!" He laughed.

"I guess I am. Anyway, I have something-"

"Please, Will, keep it!"

"What?"

"You've given me too much already!"

"Let me finish. I have something to tell you." My heart thumped, and I searched his face for clues.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" I asked him.

"Nothing's wrong...well, plenty of things are _wrong, _but nothing...just, I...For the love of Merlin! What I mean is...I love you." You know, I live in a world where spoken words can do nearly anything. Words can end a life, levitate a house, or create a canary out of thin air instantly. But there is no spell in the entire world that could have done to me what those three simple words did.

"I..." My throat closed, and I was dizzy. Will turned bright red.

"You...I...Evey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it, I mean, I know it's sudden, but..." I held my finger up to my lips. He was quiet, watching me anxiously. I fought to catch my breath before whispering.

"I love you, too. I have for so long, Will, I...I..." I was gasping for breath again. He fiercely pulled me close, his words coming in a rush.

"I...I always just accepted the fact that I wouldn't grow up. Ever since I remember, I was told I was put here for one purpose only, and that I would fulfill it when I was young. My life would end the day I left Hogwarts. Then, you came. Meeting you, seeing you, kissing you...it was like...like being told over and over that the sky was pitch black, and then looking up one day and seeing that the sky is really blue. What I mean is, I never thought of my future—never dreamed I would have one—and now, with you, that's all I _can _think about. It's selfish and horrible, I know, but...I couldn't let you go. I know that I would kill so many, and cause so many more grief if I did what they want me to do, but...the real reason I can't do it, is..._you. _I love you, Evey."

I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, squeezing my eyes shut. I had never felt such an intense emotion before—I loved my family, of course— but this sort of love made me feel like my ribs were going to splinter...again. The only thing I could think to do was to pull his face to mine and kiss him. He kissed a trail along the line of my jaw, then found my mouth again. Breathing heavily, I put my hands on his chest and pushed him backward slowly, towards a chaise lounge. I heard the door click locked. Bless the Room of Requirement.


	11. Taking Sides

**I do not own these characters....**

**Chapter Eleven: Taking Sides**

"What do you feel?" Firenze prompted. I closed my eyes.

"I feel..." I glanced up. He nodded. "I...I don't know." The centaur's shoulders fell a couple degrees, and I knew he was irritated, but when he spoke his voice was calm.

"Perhaps...wait here." He disappeared quickly. Artemis, who was always nearby, clicked her beak in frustration. She found these lessons horribly boring. I didn't blame her. This was my fifth lesson with Firenze, and so far I had reaped nothing but numb fingers from these late night meetings. The first night had seemed so promising in that little forest clearing—until the lesson had begun.

"Clear your mind. Let go of all your worries for a moment," Firenze had instructed. In that instant, I knew there would be a problem. Honestly, can you blame me? I loved a boy who my family hated and was intended by a secret organization to be the next You-Know-Who, and this all somehow through a little-known prophecy involved me and had almost killed me twice. How could I possibly 'clear my mind'? I sighed, leaning against Artemis for warmth. A rustling sounded from the brush. I waited for Firenze to step through the trees. Nothing happened. I looked around the clearing. Another rustle.

"Firenze?" I called softly in a high-pitched squeak. No answer. I drew my wand. My blood ran icy. Another rustle—this time closer. I whirled around and pointed my wand to the spot, and I felt a rush of terror—and then something else. I felt...malice, anger.

"_Petrificus Totalis_," I yelped, and I nearly screamed when Firenze came crashing through the trees, frozen. "Oh...oh...oh..." I ran over to him, murmuring the counter-curse. He struggled to his feet. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were-"

"You did it!" He said happily.

"I...what?"

"What did you feel?" I frowned.

"You were...angry, you were going to..."

"You _did _feel it!" He said triumphantly. My eyes widened.

"Now, feel around yourself. How many people are in the woods around us?" I closed my eyes once again. I tried to recreate the feeling from a moment ago, then...

"Two. One is bored, one is frustrated." I said, surprised.

"Yes!" I felt a little light-headed. After a month of frustration, the payoff was immense.

"Who are they?"

"Friends of mine," the centaur said, "they owed me favors." I nodded. I was still in shock of the sudden break-through.

"Thank-you," I said, grinning. He smiled.

"I did nothing," he said with a little bow. He turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called. "Is this it? Isn't there more you can teach me?" He looked at me curiously.

"I am afraid that I have done all that I can do. The rest is up to you. Good-bye." He left before I could even wave.

I couldn't resist trying out my new ability on everyone I passed. This Ravenclaw was worried, this Hufflepuff was excited...it was quite interesting. I climbed the stairs to the dormitories triumphantly. Rose was already asleep—her face cradled between the pages of a large book that she had been reading. I chuckled as I replaced the book with a pillow, and marked her place for her. I was struck by how much I missed talking to Rose. We had grown apart these past months with everything happening. I sighed and slumped onto my bed, recalling the days when I could talk to my best friend, and I wasn't constantly craning over my shoulder, waiting for someone else to try to kill me.

The next day, I rose and got ready quickly, nearly flying down the stairs to meet Will. When I saw him, however, he did not look good. Purple circles stretched beneath his eyes, and I flinched. Will had not slept, either. Walking a bit apart from the rest of my cousins, I whispered to him_._

"What's wrong?" He looked at me sadly.

"I...not here." I took his hand.

"I have news, too," I murmured. He took a deep breath.

"Later, then. Usual place, usual time." I nodded. "See you in Herbology."

The day passed as they normally do: slowly. Will barely spoke during Herbology. I could feel the worry and fear pouring off him like something tangible, but I didn't press the matter. He would tell me in his own time. I only slid my hand on top of his comfortingly. He looked at me with those eyes, making my blood quicken.

"I love you," I mouthed. He drew a line from the corner of my mouth to my ear with his thumb.

"I love you," he mouthed back.

I carried on throughout the day with a dark sort of anticipation, finally making my way down to the study. Will was pacing in front of the fire.

"Evey," he murmured. Closing the short distance between us, he took me into his arms like we'd been apart for a year. Slightly taken aback, I pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"Will, what's wrong?" I asked him softly. He only shook his head and pulled me against him again. The emotions coming from him were nearly too much to bear. I guided him to the familiar leather armchair.

"Tell me," I whispered to him. He looked at me with tears in his eyes.

"I..." His voice cracked with a sob. My heart was pounding. I had never seen Will like this—it terrified me.

"Will," I repeated his name like a mantra under my breath. "It can't be that bad. Whatever it is, we'll get through it." It was not the speech I had been planning, but it would have to suffice. His breathing calmed a little, and he pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it with dread.

Scorpius,

This letter is to let you know that we are most displeased with your recent actions. It was most unnerving for us to find out that you—our only hope, the heir to the Dark Throne, no less—have been wasting your time cavorting with a filthy, worthless blood-traitor. I, of all people, fully understand the allure of a pretty girl and normally this type of behavior would have been easily overlooked. However, you were warned to keep out of our plans for the traitor, and knowing you blatantly and deliberately disobeyed a direct order has caused us to gravely question your devotion to the Cause. Indeed, we have been deliberating these past months on your punishment for your disobedience. However, since your time is so quickly approaching, everyone has agreed that one simple deed will prove your eternal loyalty to the Keepers. Your task is this: kill this girl you have been so reckless with. The means are unimportant, so long as you complete the deed yourself. Do this, and your crimes will be forgotten. We will welcome you back like the hero you are. If, however, you fail...only know this: you will take part in the ritual. The glorious return is in sight. We have not come this far only to have victory snatched from our fingertips at the final moment. I know you will make me proud, my son.

Your Father,

Draco Malfoy

I read the letter without flinching. When I had finished, I folded it neatly and held it out to Will. He wouldn't touch it.

"Do you want to talk about this?" I asked gently.

"Not particularly," he choked out.

"I...can't quite fathom a...a dad sending this to his son," I thought out loud.

"He's my father. Not my dad." I shifted closer to him.

"What...are you going to do about it?" He sighed.

"I've been thinking about it. It came late last night," his voice was a little steadier. "It wasn't this that...that I...about an hour ago, they sent me this." He handed me a photograph. I shuddered when I saw what it was of. It wasn't actually a photograph...it was a drawing—a very convincing one—of...me. Inside it, I walked along the shore of the Black Lake. Apparently hearing a noise, I turned...there was a flash of green light, and I fell. My lifeless body lay in the grass, my eyes still wide with surprise. The drawing went black, then repeated itself. Beneath it, there was a short message scrawled.

S- The sooner the better. -D

He buried his face in the crook of my collar bone and neck.

"I...couldn't bear it," he said against my skin. I felt a sudden surge of rage, coming from no one but myself. I clutched Will's face in my hands.

"Will, look at me." I commanded, kissing him fiercely. "Look at me!" I grabbed the letter and the drawing and jumped to my feet. I whipped around to face him. "Watch! Are you watching?" He nodded, speechless. I stormed over to the blazing fire and threw them into the flames. I watched as they warped and blackened and, finally, crumbled into nothing. I turned back to Will.

"You see?" I said, the anger evaporating from my voice. "They're only paper. I'm real...I'm _here. _I love you. Now...how are we going to stop them?" Will took a shuddering breath.

"What if...we can't stop them?"

"Don't say that! Never say that! We can't back down, Will. If we're ever going to be together, we have to beat them. This is a war, Will. We have to fight back! Now what are we going to do?" He looked up, his eyes intense.

"You're right." I took my seat next to him. Our hands entwined.

"Should we go to Professor Lioda?" I asked. He shook his head vigorously. I could feel his determination...Merlin, I loved him!

"She wouldn't believe us...or, if she did, she would have to call in the Order of the Phoenix. They would conduct a long investigation, and—trust me—they wouldn't find anything. The Death Keepers have not been found out for over sixty years. They know how to stay aloof. We don't have time for doubt. If we took the chance and they didn't take us seriously..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish. I bit my lip.

"You're right. They might not believe us...but I know who would." I jumped up. "Come on," I started for the door. He didn't follow. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, stepping towards me. "It's just...I love you so damn much." I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go." I led him out of the study and nearly ran to the main staircase. "Meet me in the Room of Requirement," I told him. "We need somewhere private, where we can talk and no one can listen. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Wait! Where are you going?" I kissed him quickly.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"More than I trust myself," he said. "Hurry." I ran to the Gryffindor common room. There was someone that was long overdue for an explanation. I burst into my dormitory and ran over to Rose, who was reading on top of her bed. Lydia and Alyssa were nowhere to be seen.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"I...I need to talk to you, Rose. Not here...follow me." Without another word, she jumped off of her bed and pulled on shoes and a sweater. I ran into Lily's room, which she shared with four other girls. "Lils?" She looked up. So did the other four heads. "Come one, I've got...something to show you." She raised her eyebrows, but obeyed.

"What's this all about?" Lily asked as I descended the staircase.

"Not here," I murmured. "Help me get the boys." Rose got Hugo, Lily got Albus, and I crossed my fingers as I knocked on the door to James and Fred's room.

"What?" Someone shouted from inside. I entered.

"James, Fred...will you come with me?" Fred looked at me strangely.

"What do you want?" He demanded. I bit my lip.

"It's...it's really important, Fred. Please? I know that you've been mad at me lately, but...I need you right now." He didn't meet my gaze. I felt my eyes tear up.

"Come on, Evey," James said, heading toward the door. "I'm with you." I smiled up at him.

"Thanks." I said, following him out of the room.

"Ev', wait!" Fred jumped off of his bed. "I...I may not approve of...all you do, but...you're still my sister. I'm with you, too." I threw my arms around him. In the hall, my five cousins and brother stood, eyes turned to me.

"Tell us what's wrong, Evey," Hugo said. No one else spoke, but they all looked at me expectantly.

"Follow me," I said. And the seven of us made our way to the Room of Requirement, where Will was waiting.

Six pairs of green and brown eyes widened as Will recounted his tale. When he was finished, six jaws hung slightly agape. I jumped out of my seat and went to stand by Will, linking my arm with his.

"I know it's...hard to believe, but it's true. We have to stop this, and soon. No adults, no Order. We have to go this alone. So what do you say? Will you help us?" Silence. No one said anything for the longest moments of my life. Then, Rose broke the silence.

"C-count me in," she said. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

"Rosie!" I released Will to gather her up in a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," I whispered to her, "But I-"

"It's okay, Evey. We're best friends, remember? I wouldn't desert you now," she replied. Recalling the others in the room, I let go of Rose to face them.

"I'm in, too!" Albus announced, pushing some of his jet-black hair from his face.

"Of course, I'm with you!" James said, flashing me a half-smile.

"Me, too!"

"And me!" Lily and Hugo seemed excited for an adventure. We all turned to Fred.

"The question is," Fred said slowly, "what's the plan?"


	12. Waiting Games

**Ah do nawt own zeez characters. **

**Chapter Twelve: Waiting Games**

I sat on my bed, legs crossed, my fingers curled around the silver necklace around my neck. There was a meow at the window. Lysander sat on the sill. I hadn't seen him for a long time...not since Christmas, in fact. I let him in and he wound around my legs.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He only blinked at me. There were no notes tucked beneath his collar. I shrugged, and went to sit down again.

"Evey?" I was startled from my thoughts by Rose, who came to sit next to me. "Sorry, I...I'm just a little shocked still." It was about an hour after the meeting in the Room of Requirement.

"It's...a lot to take in. I know." I said.

"This...this is really happening, isn't it?" I nodded. "Are you alright?"

"I...not really."

"What's the matter?"

"I'm...worried."

"About...Will?"

"Yeah." She looked at me.

"Evey, talk to me." I sighed.

"It's just...Will didn't tell you this tonight, but...he's been ordered to...well, to kill me." Rose's jaw dropped.

"Y-you don't think-?"

"No! No, of course not!"

"Then what's wrong?"

"Well...it's exactly the opposite, really...you should have seen him...before. His father sent him a...sort of drawing of me...dying. I guess it was meant to encourage him. When he saw it, he went...crazy. Crying, everything. It...scared me. I just hope he's alright." I petted Lysander, who had curled up in my lap.

"You...you really love him, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Everything will work out, Evey." Rose said, giving me a small smile. I returned it as best I could. "I wonder where Lydia and Alyssa are?" At that moment, the girls in question burst through the door, giggling about something. Our conversation effectively over, I transferred the cat from my lap to my bed and changed into a knee-length chemise.

"I still don't understand how you wear those things in the dead of winter," Rose said, already in her pajamas. I shrugged. Lysander was sitting on the bed, staring at me without blinking.

"What? Merlin, you're a strange cat." He only purred, and snuggled against me when I lay down.

"They've stopped communicating with me. They know I can't be trusted anymore." Will ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly. We sat in a sort of half-circle in the Room of Requirement.

"So...where do we go from here?" Fred asked. Will sighed.

"It's...hard to say. They have the upper hand right now. They know exactly where we are, but they could be anywhere."

"You think they'll try to come here?" James frowned. Will shook his head.

"No. The school's too heavily guarded right now for them to risk a direct attack. Besides, they need me alive. They won't do anything drastic without knowing more about their situation."

"A...direct attack. What other kind of attack is there?" Lily said uneasily. Will gave a humorless smile.

"What I mean is, I don't think they'll resort to anything rash until they know more about their situation."

"They'll send scouts?"

"Possibly. Some of the portraits are on their side, too. That's why we can't discuss anything without a muffling charm."

"So there's nothing we can do in the mean time?" Hugo asked quietly.

"All we can do is wait," Will said helplessly. There was a pause.

"That's not true," Rose said, standing. "We can arm ourselves!"

"With what, Rose?" I asked quietly.

"Not literally 'arm.' I mean, we can try to learn a little about what we're facing. Read up on dark magic and rituals, learn a few tricks of our own, so that if we do get caught in an attack, we'll be ready for them!"

"She's right," Will said. "We can't know what their planning, but we can at least try to prepare."

From that moment forward, every spare moment we had was spent pouring through the dark arts books in the library. We read until lines of print were bored into our retinas, studied diagrams until we were blue in the face. Defensive spells were practiced on weekends in the Room of Requirement, dark rituals were discussed over meals. We added countless spells to our arsenals, sharing the really useful ones with each other, and discarding the others. On top of this, exams were quickly approaching. Rose helped me run through Transfiguration and Charms, but it seemed that school had been set on the back burner to make room for our fast-approaching doom. What little sleep I got was with Lysander draped over my neck and Roxie curled up in the crook of my knees. With all the madness going on, I hadn't so much as picked up a paintbrush in what seemed like an eternity.

Exams arrived, and I focused as best I could. The only one I was not worried about at this point was Defense Against the Dark Arts. After hour after fun-filled hour sitting in stuffy rooms and writing until our quill-hands throbbed, we were dismissed for the day. My cousins, Will, and I all decided it was too nice a day to return to the library. We ventured out onto the grounds, where a lovely spring afternoon was in full-swing. We sat down at the shore of the lake, skipping stones and talking idly. I heard a familiar shrieking noise and turned to see Artemis plunging out of the trees. I turned to greet her, but was suddenly filled with a wave of panic. I jumped to my feet, my body tensing.

"What is it?" Will asked, standing up with me.

"Something's wrong," I said, running to meet Artemis.

"Evey? What is it?" The rest of the group trailed me as I sprinted toward the hippogriff.

"Get Hagrid! Quick! Something's wrong in the forest!" I swung atop of Artemis fluidly and she reared, turning to gallop back to the forest. Her panic was my own as we rushed through the trees. We weren't far in when we slowed. My right hand gripped my wand anxiously as Arty broke through some undergrowth into a clearing. Centaurs stood in a circle around a crumpled figure. I launched myself off of Artemis, breaking through the circle to the lifeless shape.

"Firenze!" I cried, kneeling next to him. His long legs were pulled against his belly, hooves jutting out at odd angles. His hands grasped at the dirt, as if he had died trying to crawl away. "Firenze, no! What happened?" I demanded of the nearest centaur.

"He was attacked. Tortured." I felt a sob rack my body.

"How? Who could have done this?" I shouted.

"Dark forces know much. He should not have meddled where he wasn't welcome."

"No! It was because of me! I asked him to help me...this is...all my fault! Firenze, I'm so sorry..." There was silence, as they watched me cry against his broad, cold side. I wasn't aware that the others had arrived until I felt Will's arms around me. Gently, he guided me to the edge of the circle. As soon as I left Firenze's side, the centaurs began to cover him with dead pine needles and dry wood.

"It was not your doing, child. Firenze knew. He always did have a soft spot for humans." An old, grey centaur told me before joining his fellows in covering Firenze's body.

"What are they doing?" I asked Hagrid shakily.

"They think tha' centaurs need t' be returned to th' forest when they die. They'll burn 'is body and stand a vigil for him." I shuddered. Will held me closer.

"Hagrid, I don't think..." I heard Will say. There was an agreeing grunt from Hagrid, and he led us back out of the forest.

"They did that," I murmured to Will.

"Yeah."

"What do we do?" He didn't answer for a while.

"I don't know."


	13. Daughter of the Trickster

**I do not own. **

**Chapter Thirteen: Daughter of the Trickster**

A feeling of hatred washed over me, yanking me out of my fitful sleep. Someone was angry, and that someone meant to kill. I scrambled out of the bed, trying to locate where the feeling was coming from. It was distant, but strong. There were more than one.

"Rose!" I whispered furiously.

"What is it?" she asked, instantly awake.

"It's happening. They're here. We have to get the others." Lysander jumped from my bed, and before he hit the ground he had transformed into Will.

"Will?" Rose and I gasped. He ignored our surprise.

"Where are they? How many?" He demanded. I closed my eyes.

"More than five. They're on the grounds, looking for a way in." Will let out a curse. "Alright—grab what you need, hurry! We have to leave." I grabbed my school bag, emptied its contents, tossed in all the money I had, Will's mirror, and some Muggle clothes. I dressed quickly, scarcely noticing that Will was standing not three feet away. I pulled on tennis shoes .

"Go get the others," Will murmured. "I'll be right back." He transformed into Lysander again and left through the window. Alyssa woke with a start.

"Would you guys can it?" She groaned.

"Alyssa, listen to me!" I said quickly.

"What?"

"Hogwarts is under attack. Get your wand out, and go wake up the rest of the house. I'm not kidding, go!"

"Where are you going?" She asked, clamoring down from her top bunk.

"I can't tell you...you can't know anything. It's for your own safety." I added hastily. "Just hurry, would you? Oh, and Alyssa?" She turned, halfway out the door already. "Take care of Roxie." She nodded hastily.

"You go get the boys," I told Rose. She nodded, sprinting down the staircase, while I ran to Lily's room.

"Lils, wake up!" She sat straight up.

"What's happened?" she asked, already searching for clothes.

"They're here. We have to leave." She nodded.

"Come to the common room when you're ready." Will appeared, a small bag slung over one shoulder, his broomstick on the other one. He tossed me my own bag, and spoke in a hushed voice.

"They're in. They don't know we're onto them yet. We need to get out _now_ if we stand any chance."

"But how?" I asked as we made our way to the staircase. It suddenly flattened into a slide, and we tumbled to the ground. He helped me up, the rest of our group was already there, Lily sliding down behind us. The common room was quickly approaching chaos, people shouting, half-dressed, at one another anxiously.

"Remember how Dad and Mum and all them got to the Ministry in their fifth year?" Lily said excitedly.

"They rode Thestrals," Rose snapped, "We don't have any Thestrals on hand right n--"

"Not Thestrals, _Hippogriffs!"_ Lily snapped back.

"Artemis!" I said excitedly. Running up the staircase to the boys' dormitories, I threw open their window and looked to the forest, calling Artemis. I pictured her flying up out of the trees with the rest of the herd, squeezing my eyes shut in concentration. I opened them again, anxiously watching the horizon while feeling with my mind for the intruders. They were inside the school, somewhere on the ground floor. A panic seized me.

"The headmistress, all the teachers, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, they don't--" at that moment, a wailing sound erupted in the night. More shouts and screams were heard from the common room. I whipped around, looking at the window. Shadowy figures detached themselves from the trees, heading towards the school.

Artemis was there in a few flaps of her great wings. She pulled to the side, hovering, beckoning me to get on. Without a thought, I crawled through the windowsill, landing easily on her back.

"Come on!" I shouted behind me. Will tossed his bag and broom to me before he leaped in cat-form to Arty's back. He crawled in front of me. I nodded, he would take up less room this way.

"Rose, you next!" I shouted. Her eyes were wide with fear as she balanced on the windowsill.

"I can't!"

"We'll catch you, just jump!" I yelled. "Hurry!" She only shook her head. Taking a deep breath, I got on my feet. Leaning over with my arm outstretched, I took Rose's hand and yanked her out into the air. She let out a little shriek before Artemis shifted, catching her. I sat once again, Rose clutching my waist from behind. Artemis dove away, hovering a little ways away so that her father could move up to the window. Lily, Hugo, and Al leaped onto his broad back, then James and Fred on Featherfoot. The rest of the herd spread out around us as we flew to the forest.

I searched for the intruders again. There was one on the grounds, he was gazing up at us, trying to discern if the animals were a threat. He obviously hadn't seen us climb on. Artemis, understanding my concern, chirped to a tawny-colored hippogriff flying not far from us. He cocked his head, looking to Buckbeak, who chirped as well. Taking this as an order, he broke off from the group, spiraling down toward the lone intruder. I heard a howl of pain, and then silence. I didn't turn back to look as we spiraled to the safety of the forest. The animals landed surprisingly softly—like apples falling from trees.

"Okay!" I shouted, hopping off of Artemis. The rest followed suit.

"If you have a broom, ride that. Al and Rose..." Artemis interfered with my thoughts, pushing her own ideas into my head. "...okay, Albus, on that black hippogriff—his name's Ravenwing; Rose, you're on Featherfoot. The two proud animals bowed to allow their riders on. Artemis chirped to her father, who screeched to the rest of the herd. The rest of them took off, swooping back towards the school.

"Where are we going?" Albus called, looking suspiciously at his mount. Will looked at me, eyebrows raised. I gulped. We needed somewhere where we could regroup—gather supplies, make a plan—an idea flooded into my head.

"Follow us!" I called as Artemis took off through the trees. Featherfoot and Ravenwing followed suit. Lily, James, Fred, Hugo and Will hovered behind on their brooms. We rode in the cover of the trees until I could no longer feel the intruders' murderous thoughts. Then, we rose above the treetops where we could move faster. Arty and I headed the group, Ravenwing and Featherfoot flanking us about ten meters back. Fred and Will were between them, with Hugo, Lily, and James fanning out behind them. After a while, Will drew forward on his broom until he was close enough to talk to me.

"Where are we going?" He repeated Al's question.

"Diagon Alley." I told him, "to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." A smile flitted across his face.

"I see." We looked at each other for a moment.

"Evey, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For dragging all of you into this." I rolled my eyes.

"If I recall correctly, I was caught up in this by some prophecy. Not by you." He bit his lip.

"If I wasn't around, then there would be no prophecy." I looked at him furiously.

"Scorpius Hyperion Willhelm Malfoy, if you ever so much as _hint _that my world would be better off without you again, I swear I'll slap you." He looked startled. "We're in this together, we have _always _been in this together, and don't you _ever _say otherwise again. Alright?" He blinked.

"Alright." He murmured. I gave him a small smile, and he returned it before falling back behind us.

Diagon Alley was mostly dark as we winged above it. The only lights came from the Leaky Cauldron and a few other pubs along the street. Artemis landed softly in the narrow alley behind Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I went around the front, pressing my wand to the fifth spot on the back of a ceramic toad doorstop. It belched out a key, attached to its long, pink tongue. I unlocked the door and let the toad slurp the key up again. I maneuvered around the displays, feeling my way to the store-room. I opened the side entrance, usually used for deliveries, big enough to allow three hippogriffs to rest, unseen. Shutting the door firmly, I flipped on the light. Shelves and boxes full of ingredients lined the storeroom. We arranged the boxes to allow the hippogriffs more room.

"We can hide here for a few hours, but we need to move soon. Will, any ideas?" He frowned.

"I...I'm not certain where we should attack. They don't have one headquarters—they have several."

"So it wouldn't do any good to attack one of those—the rest would just retaliate." Albus said. I shuddered at the word 'attack.' Will took a seat on a box next to me.

"It's like that fairy-tale...cut off one head, and three more grow," James said.

"There's only one head we'd have to cut off, in order to ruin everything for them," I murmured. They all looked at me strangely. Will had a strange look of hurt mixed with acceptance in his eyes.

"What?" I demanded, then it dawned on me. "Oh, you thought I meant—Merlin, not Will! I meant the snake!" There were sighs of relief. "You seriously thought—?" I turned to Will.

"After that speech you gave me before? No." He laced his fingers with mine. "That snake...it's...going to be a lot harder to kill than me. It's heavily guarded, in this little cage. It doesn't make any sound, at least, not that anyone can hear but a Parselmouth." He shuddered. "It screams." He added, almost in a whisper.

"You've seen it before?" Fred asked. He nodded. "Then you know where it is?"

"Yeah."

"Where?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Close."

"How close?" James chimed in.

"The Leaky Cauldron."


	14. To Arms

**Chapter Fourteen: To Arms**

The seven of us lay down everything we had managed to take with us in our hasty departure. Each of us had some sort of bag. We threw clothes and money to one side hastily. Neither would do us any good for what we were about to do.

"Get anything and everything that could be of use!" I yelled. The others wasted no time in getting to the shop. Will, Fred and I remained behind. We climbed the staircase to Dad's office. It was a cramped, cluttered space with nothing but a desk, a large cabinet and a table. A knowing glance passed between Fred and me. We crossed to the cabinet, raised our right hands, and said in unison:

"We solemnly swear we are up to no good." The doors and drawers flew open to reveal invention after invention of my father and his late brother's, all rejected by the Ministry of Magic for various reasons. Boxes of Special Edition Fireworks, Portable Cyclones, Cupid's Arrows, and countless other things were hauled out of the expanding cabinet. We made several trips up and down the narrow stairway with our supplies. When we had taken down the last of it, I ascended one more time. Taking a piece of parchment and a quill, I wrote my father a note.

_Dad--_

_I am so sorry for what we've done here, but I promise all will be explained later. There isn't time to tell you much now, but I do know that what I'm doing is right. I love you._

_--Ev _

I reread my note quickly, adding at the bottom:

_The Leaky Cauldron._

My stomach flipped, and if there had been anything in my stomach, I would have thrown it up. As it was, I braced myself against the desk, palms flat, taking deep breaths. My eyes fell upon a knife. It was maybe eight inches long, but sharp. I remembered it now; it had been a gift from my grandfather to my father. No doubt it was Muggle-made. I took it slowly, tucking it into my jeans pocket. Downstairs, we packed our bags and readied ourselves to leave.

It is very difficult to move seven teens and two hippogriffs a block without being seen. We had to go three. After stocking up on anything we might need. Moving slowly, we stayed within the shadows. Diagon Alley was not very well guarded, mostly because anything worth breaking in to was extremely well locked by several spells. Nevertheless, we couldn't be sure who else might be watching, and what their intentions were.

Will and I were being pulled together by some magnetic force. I found myself leaning against him and holding his hand while we crept. Every single muscle in my body was tense, and so were Will's. As we approached the Leaky Cauldron, Will carefully steered us towards the back of the group. I could sense that he wanted to say something, so I let the others get out of earshot.

"Evey," he began, his tone serious. "If something happens tonight..."

"No, I don't want to hear this, Will!" I turned to catch up with the group.

"Evey, please..."

"NO!" I tried to tear away from him, but he was strong. .

"Evelyn, listen to me!" He gave me a little shake. I stopped struggling, tears running down my face. "I need to ask you something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box, and knelt before me. "Evelyn Jane Weasley, will you marry me?" My knees went weak, and Will got up to steady me, looking at me anxiously.

"Yes," I whispered, swaying. He took my left hand and slipped on a thin silver band with a round diamond in the center. I stared at it in disbelief. I had never been one of those girls to dream up their weddings and engagements to the tiniest detail. All the same, I had not expected to be engaged during my sixth year at Hogwarts in a dark alleyway near the Leaky Cauldron, moments before I would go into battle. The ring fit perfectly. We looked at each other for a moment, then I wrapped my arms around him.

"Will, I'm so scared, " I whispered into his ear.

"I'll protect you."

"I'm scared for you. For Fred, for Rosie, for everyone!"

"I know. I am, too."

"What would I do without you?" I murmured, feeling the tears prick my eyes.

"Evey, listen. I'm a very selfish person. I would give my life for you in an instant, but I would rather keep it to grow old with you. I am going to fight with everything I've got. I love you."

"I love you, too." I said. I pulled my head back to look at him. "Evelyn Malfoy," I tried the name out. It felt good. Will's face filled with raw emotion, and he clutched me to him as tightly as he could.

"It's time to go," I said. I felt him take a deep breath before letting me go. With nothing left to say, we joined the others, our hands entwined.


End file.
